


An Old Face in the Mountains

by FarJadeDragon



Series: BLU Team Adventures [6]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Clauden - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Character Death, More tags will be added later, Multiple Pov, OC, OCs - Freeform, OOC, Open to criticism, shifting pov, solider/spy is in the background
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24671008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarJadeDragon/pseuds/FarJadeDragon
Summary: During an average battle, the respawn suddenly gets shut off.  With an old foe suddenly revealing themselves and a new one being made, the BLU Team is scattered across the snowy mountains around Coldfront. Will they be able to reunite with each other, or will they be picked off one by one?[Abandoned Work. Might come back, but it’s unlikely.]
Relationships: Soldier/Spy (Team Fortress 2)
Series: BLU Team Adventures [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730344
Kudos: 14





	1. Just a Normal Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sniper’s POV

Turns out, Coldfront’s respawn room was even worse than the Badlands one. Rather than cobwebs and dust, frost instead crawled up the corners of the room, and the lockers were sometimes frozen shut, requiring a crowbar or well-placed axe swing to get the door to open.

The respawn room held cold air in like a damn refrigerator. Hell, thanks to the respawn machine below, it even hummed like one. I wish the hot air from the fireplace reached here. I’d make the damn place a little more welcoming.

Prying my locker open, I grabbed my rifle and kukri. Both were unpleasantly cold to the touch, since they’ve been sitting here for more than ten minutes. Good thing they both still work, otherwise I might have to figure out how to use a bow, kinda like how the RED Sniper did.

I grabbed some gloves to keep my hands warm. I was tempted to grab my razorback, since the RED Spy has been getting real stabby lately, but I decided against it. I needed to be able to extinguish people with jarate, and Pyro was… bloody useless right now. His fire still worked, but the poor guy can’t stand the cold.

I looked around the room. Everybody was in some sort of winter gear, except for Pyro, who was just wearing his normal fire suit. Demo and Scout were arguing about who would get the TV tonight, Heavy and Doc were discussing battle strategies, and Engie and Spy were talking about sappers.

“So ya can’t have a sapper because your gloves and shoes count as a weapon?” Engie said, sounding a bit exasperated.

“Yes.” Spy said, showing Engie his gloves. “They count as a mobility assist, so I wasn’t able to have a sapper equipped.” He paused, remembering something. “Not that I have one.”

“That’s mighty interestin’,” Engie said, scratching his chin. “I think I might be able to help ya out.”

“Really?”

“Sure. Think of it as an early Smissmass gift.”

Spy gave Engie a polite smile, thanking him. The Admin came on the comms, saying we had about five minutes until countdown. Speaking of comms…

I grabbed the earpiece that Engie made me. He made one for everyone, since they worked pretty well for Spy and Soldier’s date. At least something good came out of that. Looking around, I could see everyone else had them in their ears as well. Except for Pyro, it was kinda hard to tell with his gas mask.

“Ya ready Snipes?” Scout said. 

I nodded. He pulled the flaps of his winter hat over his ears and went to grab his frying pan, but Engie gave him a look. He grabbed the bat instead. “You’re no fun.”

“Son, do you remember what happened the last time ya used the fryin’ pan?” Engie said, crossing his arms.

“...yea.” Scout grumbled, rolling his eyes. He grabbed his Scattershot, as well as some ammo. “Stupid Sniper can’t shoot for shit.”

I grumbled. It wasn’t my fault that the pan just so happened to be angled in such a way that caused my bullet to ricochet into Doc’s head. Damn bullet cost us the match.

Soldier grabbed his shovel from his locker, the one with the eagle engraved on it. He loved that shovel so much. He slammed the

“I AM READY!” He bellowed, screaming into the microphones. We all winced.

“Yea just keep yellin’ Soldier!” Scout said, rubbing his ears. “It’s not like I need my ears for anythin’ important or anythin’!”

“I WILL CONTINUE TO YELL!!”

“Yo shut up! I was jokin’!”

This was going to be a long match. Maybe I should just turn off my earpiece and hope nobody else has anything important to say. I’m usually on my own anyway, so it’s not like the earpiece really helps me.

“Don’t worry.” Engie whispered, pressing a few buttons on his building remote thing. “I’ll mute ‘em.”

“That’ll be a relief.” I whispered back, starting to get a headache from Soldier already. “Thanks, mate.”

The rest of Soldier’s shouts were now at his usual volume, thankfully. The Admin’s voice boomed overhead, saying we now have one minute before the battle starts. Everybody seemed ready, aside from Doc, who was still choosing between the Blutsauger and the Overdose. Personally, I hate the Overdose more, since he can’t hit the broad side of a bloody barn with that thing.

“Doktor, everyone is waiting-” Heavy said, sighing.

“Ja, they can wait! This is a very important decision!” Doc said, rummaging through his locker. “I’ll use this one!”

He picked the Overdose, because of course he did. Why wouldn’t he choose the thing that uses bloody recycled needles with God knows what in them. Sure, they heal us, and give us an acid trip like no other if he “forgets” to switch from hurting to healing. Which he does, often. Bastard.

Heavy sighed again, probably sharing my grief about Doc’s choice in weapons. I’m kinda glad I don’t have to deal with Doc much on the battlefield. He’s an awful healer. Why the hell was he even hired?

“30 seconds remaining!” The Admin said, her voice booming throughout the room.

Everybody got into their positions. I checked my rifle one last time, emptying and loading the chamber. Everything sounded good.

Spy stood next to me, loading his revolver and examining his gloves. There was a Spiral pattern on the fingertips, a bit like a gecko's foot. Wonder how they work. I’m sure if I asked, he’d tell me, but I didn’t want to bug him.

“Are you doing alright, Sniper?” Spy asked, tucking his gloves into his sleeves and straightening his tie.

“Yea mate.” I said, rolling my shoulders. “You?”

He nodded, looking over at Soldier. Soldier grinned and saluted, which Spy returned with a smile.

“Good luck.” Spy said.

“I WILL HAVE EXCELLENT LUCK!” Soldier yelled, still smiling.

I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for battle. I’ve done this thousands of times, yet I still feel a bit tense everytime we’re about to start, even more so since the respawn scare we had a few months ago.

I shuddered, pushing whatever thoughts that were trying to bubble up out of my head.

The Admin started to count down over the comm, as flatly and methodically as usual. I kinda wished she would change it up every now and then. Other than the occasional interruption from Miss Pauling, it was always the same.

“Ten.” She said flatly.

I adjusted my hat,and put on my glasses, adjusting them so. Pyro shifted uncomfortably, finger hovering over the trigger of his Backburner. I really hope he didn’t lose his nerve this early into the battle.

“Nine.”

Doc loaded up his Overdose. Scout blew a bubblegum bubble.

“Eight.”

Engie was checking his mechanical hand. It seemed fine to me, although I don’t know anything about machines. For all I know it could be rigged to explode if he gave someone a thumbs up.

“Seven.”

Soldier was looking out of a window, confused. I couldn’t see what he was looking at. Was it a person or an animal?

“Six.”

Scout’s bubble burst, covering half of his face in chewed gum.

“Five.”

Scout scraped the gum off of his face and threw the wad away. Well, he tried to anyway. It ended up landing on the floor next to the garbage. Engie sighed.

“Four.”

I walked over to where Soldier was staring.

“Three.”

Whatever was there is gone now. Hopefully it was nothing.

“Two.”

I really hope it was nothing.

“One.”

Spy looked a bit worried, casting both me and Soldier a concerned look.

“Is something wr-” He was interrupted by the admin.

“Zero.”

The door opened. We all ran forward, pushing through the bitterly cold wind. I tried to find Spy or Soldier, but they were both long gone. I would’ve stuck around, but we’re not supposed to stay in the respawn room for too long. Something about skipping a battle.

What did Soldier see? It could be anything honestly. Unless he’s given a specific thing to do, Soldier has the attention span of a squirrel. For all I know it could’ve just been a deer or something. I’ll ask him after the battle.

I ran down a tunnel, dodging bullets and rockets. Soldier probably picked a fight with the RED Scout again, so I’ll probably have to go a different direction.

I turned around a corner, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of the REDs. Strangely, I didn’t see anyone here. Normally this place was crawling with them. Guess Pyro’s Backburner was doing better than I thought It would.

Looking out of a nearby window, I could see our Heavy, currently trying to mow down the team and defend the Capture Point at the same time. The RED Soldier was giving him some trouble, since he somehow managed to get himself on top of the roof. I pulled out my rifle, taking aim at his forehead, the red dot tracing along the roof. He fired another rocket, although it ended up hitting one of Engie’s Sentires instead. He’s gonna be pissed.

Before I could take aim, I saw Spy scaling the walls of the buildings. He was fairly hidden in the shadows, and scaled the wall with catlike grace, looking around to make sure he was still hidden. He cloaked right before he got onto the roof.

The RED Soldier cried out in pain, having been stabbed in the back, and fell to the ground. Spy stood on the roof, looking around for anyone else in his vicinity. Seeing no one, he slid off of the roof, possibly going after the RED Heavy next.

I continued to scope out the area. The Red engineer was behind an icy rock, trying to set up a mini-sentry. I aimed my rifle at the side of his head, right where his temple would be. I wouldn’t be able to do much about his sentry, but I can at least stop him from putting up any more buildings.

The RED Engineer paused, looking around. Not sure what he was so scared of, he’s pretty hidden. At least, as hidden as you could be without a cloaking watch. A wicked grin crossed his face and he spun around, grabbing Spy by the neck. I guess he heard him decloak.

Fear flashed across Spy’s face as he struggled to get out of the mechanical grasp. The RED Engineer was talking to him, but I couldn’t hear any of it. I took aim, hoping to be able to save Spy, or at least kill the Engineer. I’ve died from that Engineer before, and it ain’t pretty.

I heard a footsteps, faint ones. I spun around, narrowly avoiding getting shot in the back of the head by the RED Spy.

“Bonjour!” He said, grinning. “Haven’t seen your ugly face in a while.”

“Bastard.” I grumbled, taking out my kukri. 

He fired at me, hitting my arm. He sidestepped, leaving me to stumble into the wall. He took out his knife.

“Too bad the only skill you have is throwing urine at people.” He said, mocking me.

I snarled. Thankfully, he misjudged the distance between us. Switching to my other hand, I lunged at him. He tried to side-step again, but he didn’t have the time. My kukri dug into his stomach. He gasped, grasping at his stomach in vain. I pulled out my kurki and finished him off with my rifle.

I looked out of the window again. Spy wasn’t there anymore, but the RED Engineer was still standing strong, with a complete mini-sentry and a bloodied mechanical arm. Guess he did that gut-grinding thing he liked to do to Spy. Sick bastard.

I rubbed my arm. I can’t shoot right without both of my arms, so I’ll have to go back to resupply, unless Engie set up one of those dispensers of his. They’re pretty good for a quick healing, although they can be a bit slow. Actually, I think he and Doc made them. It’s about the only thing good Doc did for the team.

I was about to go look for Engie, but then I remembered the radio we had. I put my hand up to my ear, hoping he didn’t accidentally mute all of us.

“Engie?” I asked. “Ya there mate?”

“Hold on!” Engie said, sounding strained. “Okay, he’s dead. Whaddya need?”

I walked down the hall, dodging a stray bullet from Heavy that had somehow managed to miss all the rocks. “Ya got one of those… Dispensers anywhere?”

“Ye-”

He was cut off. Did it have to do with the explosion just outside the hallway? Probably.

I sighed. Maybe I can find a medi-kit on the ground or something. I keep one in my camper now, but using that one would be cheating. 

I rubbed my arm, which was dripping blood onto the floor. Usually Scout gets to them first, but he’s too lazy to take the whole thing so he just leaves it half-used on the ground. Sucks because he takes all the gauze.

I racked my brain, trying to remember where the kits are. I think there was one this way, but that might’ve been in the jungle base.

“Pardon me, I’m on FIRE!”

I turned behind me. Spy was running through the hallway, ignited. I guess he was looking for the medi-kit or fire extinguisher. He ran past me, rounding the corner ahead of us. He didn’t get too far before getting his face axed by Pyro.

“MMPH!” Pyro said, axing Spy’s body a few more times before realizing it was him. He gave an apologetic mumble to Spy’s dead body.

“He’ll be fine mate.” I said.

Pyro still didn’t sound too happy about axing Spy in the face. I mean, I’d feel bad if I accidentally killed him too, but it happens sometimes.

I heard the sound of a flare behind me. I turned around, and ended up taking a flare to the chest. I fell to the ground, my clothing and chest scorched. Pyro air-blasted me before I could get burned any more and pulled his axe out again, charging at his adversary. 

I layed there on the ground, sprawled out like a starfish, too overwhelmed with pain to move. At least I wasn’t on fire-

Pyro stepped over me, getting pushed back by the RED Pyro and his flair gun. The RED Pyro was on my other side, trying to wrench the axe out of Pyro’s hands. I keep forgetting they’re both fireproof, so they couldn’t use their flamethrowers against each other.

“I WILL SAVE YOU!” Soldier said from down the hall.

“Soldier?” I said, gritting my teeth.

At first I was relieved, but then I realized this was Soldier. I heard the all-too familiar sound of a missile going down the hallway. Before I could even fully process the explosion, I was in the respawn room.

I sighed. Thankfully, Pyro wasn’t next to me, so he probably managed to make it out okay. I re-loaded at resupply and headed back out into the battlefield, going a different way this time.

An explosion rattled off to my left. I could hear Heavy somewhere nearby, trying to stop what sounded like the RED Soldier from killing Doc. A stray Overdose syringe hit my arm.

I winced, pulling it out. Can’t Doc aim his bloody gun somewhere else?!

I continued my path, ignoring the screams of my teammates and enemies as I searched for a nest that wasn’t occupied or covered in sticky-bombs.

I found a good spot in one of the taller buildings. I loaded my rifle, then scoped out the area, seeing if I can find the RED Soldier that was giving everybody so much trouble. I didn’t find him, but I did find the RED Spy, who had just un-cloaked to sap Engie’s teleporter he’d set up. He was too close to Engie for me to use my rifle, but maybe I can distract him.

I put my gun away and pulled out my jarate. While I don’t think Engie will appreciate it, it will at least short out the RED Spy’s cloak for a bit. Even if he gets away, somebody else’ll find him

Hopefully Scout’s “throwing trainin’” will be helpful for once. I chucked the jar, watching as it soared through the air, heading straight for the RED Spy. At the last moment, he ducked. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, since the splash would’ve still gotten him, but apparently the jarate was frozen.

It ended up hitting Spy, who happened to have been cloaked, in the face. He fell to the ground, out cold and with a broken face. I winced.

“What the hell?!” the RED Spy said, taking a step back.

“What in tarnation?” Engie said, turning around. He was pissed. “You!”

“Merde!”

Engie pulled out his shotgun and filled the RED Spy with lead. Once that was over, he nudged Spy with his boot, then looked up at me.

“Sorry mate!” I called out. “Didn’t know it was frozen!”

Engie just shook his head, disappointed. He went back to building a second teleporter so Scout would stop bugging him. Spy’s body disintegrated.

I’ll apologize to him later. Right now I have to-

“Yo wassup!”

I turned around. The RED Scout, brandishing his own shotgun, had somehow managed to sneak up on me. I took out my kukri, irritated. Why is everybody sneaking up on me today?!

“Ya shouldn't have come up here ya bloody mongrel.” I grumbled.

“I think I should’ve.” He said.

He aimed his shotgun and fired. Thankfully, we had some distance between us. I side-stepped, a few of the pellates grazing my arm. I chucked a jar of frozen jarate at him, but I missed. It landed on the floor at his feet.

He grinned, aiming his gun again. I rushed up to him, slashing at his neck with my kukri, but he blocked it with his gun.

“Hold STILL!” I said, trying to pull my kukri out. It was stuck.

“I don’t wanna- aye is it stuck?” He asked, trying to pull his gun away.

I didn’t answer. He grinned, then wrenched his gun away, taking my kukri with him.

“Sucks for you!” He said, aiming at me.

I tried to side-step, but I ended up tripping over the jar that was beneath my foot. I heard a gunshot, and everything went black.

I re-spawned. My ears were ringing, and my lunch was currently bubbling up from my stomach. I scrambled over to a garbage can and vomited into it. On the bright side, I had my kukri back. I was about to walk out the door, but I heard somebody else in the room.

Surprisingly, it was Spy. He was still in the respawn room, staring out at the open door with a sort of melancholy expression. He sighed, checking his revolver, and perked up once he noticed I was there.

“Spy?” I asked, walking towards him. “Ya alright?”

“Did… your old Spy die this often?” He asked, sounding disheartened.

I paused. Spook did die a lot, although given his job it isn't surprising. He didn’t have the strength of Soldier or the defense of Heavy to really last all that long. Plus, after the first few backstabs, the enemy team got really paranoid about his disguises and cloaking. Spy was dying a lot more than Spook did, but Spook had more experience anyway. Not his fault.

“Not… quite as often.” I said, shifting uncomfortably. I didn’t want to lie to the guy, but he was clearly struggling. He’s been struggling ever since he got here. “But he did die pretty often.”

“...Alright.” He said, checking his watch. “I’ll do better.”

He mumbled that last part. He wordlessly re-loaded his revolver and headed out of the door, vanishing around a corner.

He didn’t sound too thrilled to be going back out there.

I followed him, checking the chamber of my rifle to make sure it was loaded as I walked along the chain-link fence. I was about to head towards one of my nests, but Spy suddenly stopped walking.

He stared out into the mountains. I followed his gaze, and managed to catch the tail-end of someone running away from the base. It wasn’t anyone I recognized, but his clothing looked pretty familiar…

Spy stood frozen in the snow, staring at where the figure had left. He turned towards me, concern etched into his face.

“...he looked familiar.” I said, worried.

Spy nodded slowly. Worry, then fear crossed his face. He ran back into the respawn room. I followed, dread beginning to claw its way into my stomach and chest. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

The Respawn room was empty aside from us. Other than the noises our shoes made, the room was eerily quiet. My heart, on the other hand, was as loud as ever.

Spy was kneeling on the ground, pulling at a metal panel on the floor. Sheets of ice splintered as he dug his fingers under the panel.

“It’s stuck!” He said.

I helped him pull it up. Thankfully, it was the right one, in the ladder leading down was any clue.

Spy went down first, silently climbing down the ladder and disappearing away from my view. I followed.

Before I even got to see the machine, I could hear Spy murmur something under his breath. He sounded mortified. I turned towards the machine, expecting to find something awful.

The Respawn machine, the thing that let us come back from being burned to death, was damaged.

The machine had been destroyed. A long gash that looked unnervingly like a cat’s scratch scarred the front of the machine. Wires and tubes had been severed like thread. Oil and various other liquids seeped out of the machine’s gashes, pooling on the floor like blood.

The Respawn was broken. It was broken!

I took a step back, panic starting to tighten its grip around me. My team was still out there. What if they died? They won’t be able to come back! They’ll be dead for real!

The Respawn was broken. Dear God it was really broken! It wasn’t just some malfunction or kidnapping, no! It was really broken.

“Tell the team.” Spy said, panic edging his voice.

“What?” I said, panting.

“Over the radio.” He begged, turning around. “Tell them! Please!”

I tried. I really did. But the radio just didn’t work. I said the Respawn was down but I only got static as a reply.

“The radio’s down…” I mumbled.

We both exchanged a look of horror, then ran to the ladder. We’ll have to tell the team in person. Hopefully the RED Team is understanding.


	2. Hell Breaks Loose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sniper's POV

I barreled through the tunnels, feet pounding against the stone and cobble flooring, desperately searching for my teammates. What if they were all dead already? What then? I don’t know if I’d be able to live with myself if they all turned up dead...

I rounded a corner, coming face-to-face with the RED Sniper. 

“Gah!” He said, stumbling back. He regained his balance, then pulled an arrow out of his quiver. For some reason, the guy used bows more than guns. “Bloody hell! Ya don’t have to be so pushy, ya mangy-”

“Wait! Stop!” I said, putting my hands up. “Don’t shoot!”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Why?” He asked, lowering his bow. “Did something happen?”

“Our respawn is down!” I said, panic lacing my voice. “We can’t respawn!”

His other eyebrow went up. He stared at me, dumbfounded. The RED Medic rounded a corner, freezing when he saw the two of us.

“Sniper! What are you doing!” the RED Medic said, taking out his Crusader’s Crossbow. “We need you to deal with their-”

“Their Respawn’s down.” the RED Sniper said, looking concerned.

The Medic’s eyebrows shot up above his glasses. He turned to me, face going pale.

“That… that is not good.” He mumbled, taking a few steps back. “Sniper! We have to tell our team to hold their fire!”

The RED Sniper nodded. They both ran down the hallway to alert their team, disappearing around a corner. I could hear them talking to their Pyro.

I kept going, ignoring the explosions that rocked the tunnel. I was kind of surprised they didn’t just shoot me. I guess they’d be out of a job if everyone on my team died.

Then again, with how fast the Admin replaced Spook, they might just get a raise instead.

I ran out into the main area, where the RED Scout and our Scout were currently having a brawl. The RED Scout had Scout pinned to the floor, and was preparing to shoot his face with a shotgun.

Scout struggled, trying to strangle his opponent. “fuckfuckfuckfu-”

“Hey!” I said, running over to them.

“Oh great.” The RED Scout said, punching Scout in the face and getting up, pointing his gun at me.

“Ow! Hey Snipes!” Scout said, his right eye starting to bruise “Ya mind given’ me a hand?”

“Stop fightin’!” I said, pulling them apart and holding them away from each other like fighting cats. “The Respawn’s broken!”

They struggled for a moment, with the RED Scout grabbing at my arm, then froze.

“Ya serious?!” Scout said, surprised. “That ain’t good!”

“You’re lyin’!” The RED Scout said, angry.

“No he ain’t!”

“Yea he is!”

“I’m not.” I said solemnly. “Go tell your team!”

I let the RED Scout go. He stared at me with suspicion, and took a few steps back. Once he realized I wasn’t trying to trick him, he turned pale, then took off, running towards the busy part of the battleground, shouting to anyone who would listen.

“Imma go find Cyclops!” Scout said, taking off in another direction before I could even say anything.

I watched him disappear behind a rock, heading towards the busier part of the battlefield. Hopefully, we’ll be able to alert everybody before anyone dies permanently.

-

Everybody had been accounted for. Even Demo, who was found sleeping in a box near the Respawn room, was safe. Drunk as ever, but safe.

After ten minutes, the two teams met in the middle, confused. We stood in the snow, uncomfortable and suspicious, with each team staying with their own members.

“So is it both of ‘em or just yours?”

“Dunno.”

We waited, although we didn’t know what for. We can’t keep fighting when our Respawn is down, we just can’t. I think it went against our contracts, counting as “killing outside of battle” or something like that.

Honestly, I was just glad the two soldiers didn’t immediately start trying to kill each other. Usually they would attack each other on sight, but for now they just glared at each other from underneath their helmets, respecting the unofficial truce we have right now.

I looked at the intercom. Speaking of “unofficial,” she was being awfully quiet about this whole mess. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Spy was standing next to me, looking just as confused as everyone else. The RED Sniper walked up to us, looking a bit awkward.

“So everyone knows now.” He said, scratching the back of his head. He’s pretty friendly for a guy who murders people for a living. “Although I ain’t so sure what we should do now?”

“I’m not sure either.” Spy said, thinking. He was tapping his foot on the ground.

“Who even broke your respawn anyway?”

I honestly forgot it wasn’t an accident. The claw mark on the machine looked familiar. I’ve seen it before. Actually, I see something similar every time I look in a mirror without my vest on.

“Clauden.” I said, voice low.

Spy perked up, turning his head towards me in shock. “Clauden? But he’s dead!”

“Maybe he isn’t.” I mumbled. “The claw mark on the machine was his.”

“His men leave that mark behind whenever they do something, it’s not just Clauden who does that.”

“Ah.”

I was a bit relieved. Since we won’t have to deal with Clauden anymore, but we still had to deal with his men. His men, who are highly trained professional killers. Bloody wonderful.

What were they looking for? Do they have a plan? It seems like they had one at least, but what do they want? Are they trying to kill us? Why? What the bloody hell could they possibly want? Was the Australium they have not enou-

Spy put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. He didn’t look too good himself, but he was probably holding together a bit better than I was.

“Thanks.” I mumbled, brushing his hand off.

I’d hoped they would’ve just disbanded after Clauden died. Guess that’s not how companies work. Unless he had a kid that took over.

“Hey Spy,” I said. “Did Clauden have any kids?”

“None that I know of.” He said. “Although he used to have a wife.”

“Used to?”

“She died about ten years ago.”

So there's nobody to take up the mantle then. I mean, I guess one of his lower-ranking guys could have taken over, but they’d probably have different goals than Clauden did. Whatever his goals were.

My thoughts were interrupted by the intercoms coming on, their screeches echoing through the mountains. I winced, covering my ear with one hand. That sound wasn’t very pleasant on the eardrums.

“Can you imbeciles hear me?”

It was the Admin. I could hear Scout groan, probably dreading the lecture we were all about to receive.

“You can, good.” She sounded like she was enjoying watching us squirm. She probably does, given that she has to watch us murder each other every damn day. Wanker.

She cleared her throat, then waited, making sure everyone was listening. “It has come to my attention that the battle has halted.”

I’d sure hoped she noticed. I could hear Miss Pauling saying something in the background.

“The battle has halted because of a Respawn failure, which in your contracts would dismiss you from fighting for the rest of the week. Fortunately for you, today is monday.”

I grinned. Maybe this whole mess won’t be as bad as I thought. I’d give us some time to track down Clauden’s men and make sure

“However,” She paused, shifting in her chair. “I have decided to void the BLU Team’s contracts--”

My grin was gone in a flash. Void? Why? Why only ours? What the bloody hell was going on? Members of concern and confusion from the other mercs filled the air, with Scout being the loudest.

“Yo what the hell?” Scout yelled over the noise. “She can’t just do that--”

“--As well as the RED Team a pay raise” She said. “And yes, I can.”

More confusion. My stomach was beginning to sink. The rest of the team looked mortified as well, exchanging glances with each other and their equally-confused RED counterparts.

I could hear her shift in her chair over the intercom. “And I’m sure you would find it interesting to know that the RED Respawn is still active and fully functional.”

“Oh fuck.” Scout said, his face going from angry to scared in a flash.

Oh no.

“So this match is to be continued.”

Please no. Not like this.

“Carry on, gentlemen.”

With an echoed click, the intercoms were off. A suffocating silence filled the air as everyone tried to figure out what had just happened.

My stomach was in knots, and my heart was beating fast. Our respawn was down, we’re going to die. For real this time, there’s no coming back. We’re surrounded by the other team, and there was nowhere to go. Bloody hell.

Spy placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it a bit and pulling me closer to him. Was he trying to comfort me? Calm me down? It wasn’t working. He was staring at the other team, waiting for them to make a move. 

“Spy?” I said, glancing at the other team. “Ya got any ideas?“

“Run.” He whispered, pulling out his revolver.

The RED Engineer loaded his shotgun, grinning. Engie took out his wrench.

“What?“

“RUN!”

Hell broke loose.

The RED Team fired at us. Spy pushed me forward, firing at one of the REDs with his revolver, and then following me.

I ran towards the building with Spy, hoping to lose them in the hallways. Everybody else scattered, each going off in a random direction. A bullet flew past my face.

“Where do we go?!” I yelled.

“I don’t know!” Spy said, sounding frantic. “But we have to leave! We’re outnumbered and they can respawn!”

“What about the others? We can’t just leave ‘em!”

Spy sighed, thinking. He slowed to a jog, then quickly turned around.

“Spy?” I asked, starting to follow him. “What are ya—“

“I’ll go get them.” He said, preparing to cloak. “Get your camper ready!”

I nodded. He ran off, disappearing into the air. A spray of bullets hit the wall next to me. I ran in the other direction, heading to the outside.

I shot the RED Scout in the face as I rounded the corner.

Why did Clauden’s men only destroy ours? I guess they wanted revenge against Spy?

I ducked, a rocket flying over me.

Why the hell is the Admin so okay with all of this? Normally if something like this happened she’d send us all on a mission to kill the wanker, not bloody support them! Was she bribed? Being held hostage? She sounded way too cheerful to be held hostage.

Another bullet whizzed past my face.

Maybe she was just bribed. Bastards.

I scaled the chain-link fence that surrounded the battlefield, the cold metal biting into my skin. It used to be the boundaries of the battlefield, keeping all stray bullets and rockets inside. Not anymore. Now it acted as prison bars.

I circled around, dodging a hopefully stray bullet as I desperately looked for where I parked my camper. I found it, it’s tires half-buried in the snow. I’d have to dig it out.

Bugger.

It would be great if there was a shovel around here, but there wasn’t. I dug at the snow surrounding the tires with my hands, desperately trying to free my van. Hopefully it’ll be able to start.

I heard the sound of a decloak. I whirled around, grabbing the RED Spy’s forearm in the process. He struggled, trying to bury his butterfly knife into my face.

“Bloody hell!” I said, using my free arm to take out my kukri and slashing at him. I managed to hit his chest, leaving

“Augh!” He shouted, taking a step back. “My suit!”

I slashed at him again, trying to keep the pressure on so he wouldn’t have time to do anything else. He frowned, pulled out his gun, then hit my jaw with the handle, knocking me back into my camper. He pinned me to the side of my van, grabbing the handle of my kukri.

“That’s for running my suit!” He spat, kicking me in the stomach and wrenching my kurki out of my hands. “And this--”

He thrust the kukri forward. I moved, but he managed to slice my side.

“--Is for attempting to throw a jar of frozen urine at me.”

I gripped my side. I was out of options. There was no way I’d be able to get my camper out with him standing there. My rifle was useless at this range, and I didn’t have anything else. Well, there was Spook’s Knife.

I kicked him back, taking advantage of my lanky legs. I reached into my vest and pulled out Spook’s knife, branshishing it at him. I didn’t imagine that it would be used for anything but opening cans, but I was desperate.

“Using a Spy’s knife?” He said, giving me a sarcastic smile. “You must be desperate to try and kill me with that. You aren’t even holding it right.”

Asshole. He was right though, the blade was a lot shorter than my Kukri, and I probably wasn’t holding it right anyway.

“You’re out of range, bushman.”

I was about to try and stab his neck anyway and hope I could catch him off guard, but then I heard screaming. Familiar, not-in-pain-or-agony screaming. Soldier?

“...What the hell—” The RED Spy said, getting cut off by a shovel colliding with his skull. He fell to the ground, out cold and most likely dead.

“SCREAMING EAGLES!” Soldier said, landing in front of me with a crunch. “HELLO SNIPER!”

“Hey Soldier.” I said, relieved. Good to know that at least one of my teammates is still alive. “Could ya give me a hand?”

Soldier nodded, kicking the RED Spy out of his way and handing me an eagle-engraved shovel. He kneeled next to the camper and started digging with his hands, pushing snow away from the tires, vigilantly. A little too vigilantly if you ask me. Guess he has experience.

“I AM THE FASTEST DIGGER IN AMERICA!” He said proudly.

“Ya sure are.” I said, putting Spook’s knife away and starting to shovel snow. “Did ya happen to see anybody else escape?”

“NEGATIVE.” He said, pausing his digging. “I DID NOT SEE ANYONE ESCAPE.”

My blood ran cold. Did nobody else get out? Are we the only two with any possibility of-

“HELLO SPY!” Soldier yelled, smiling again. 

He stood up and ran over to Spy, embracing him and lifting him off of the ground. Spy looked a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing.

“ ‘Ello Soldier.” Spy said, hugging him back. “Good job on finding Sniper.”

“THANK YOU!”

He put Spy back on the ground and continued digging.

“Is your van ready?” Spy asked, giving a questioning glance towards my camper.

“Almost.” I said. “I just gotta turn the engine on.”

Spy nodded, then gave a confused look at the RED Spy’s body, which was currently still laying in the snow.

“Did you see anyone else get out?” I asked.

Spy perked up, then nodded.

“Engineer, Pyro, and Demo all managed to get to Engineer’s truck safely.” He said. “Medic and Heavy escaped by stealing the RED Medic’s ambulance that he… apparently owned.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. There’s still someone missing though.

“What about Scout?” I asked, bracing myself for the worse.

“Scout… “ His expression fell. “I’m… not sure. I wasn’t able to find him.”

Spy thought for a moment.

“I do believe he went with Engineer, although if he did then it’s going to be very cramped in that truck…”

I nodded. That was okay for now. Maybe we’ll all get out of here safely after all.

I climbed into the driver’s side, trying to turn the engine on while Soldier and Spy kept watch. Oddly, there didn’t seem to be any REDs after us. Were they just waiting until we were content? I don’t think they’d follow us outside of the radius of Respawn.

The engine turned on, without a hitch. I breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back into the seat. I winced when I moved my arm too quickly.

“Still works!” I said, leaning out of the seat. “Get in!”

Spy and Solider climbed in. Soldier managed to wedge himself between us. I kinda wish he didn’t have such broad shoulders. I’d make things a little bit more comfortable at least.

I pressed down on the accelerator. My van eased forward slowly, bumping over a few rocks in the dirt path it was sitting on.

“So did ya happen to catch where they were going?” I asked, turning to spy. “Or any meet up place?”

Spy shook his head, looking disappointed. “No. If they have a meeting place, I didn’t hear about it.”

“Bugger.”

“Medic did say he was planning on going west, but I don’t think they actually will.”

“What makes you say that mate?”

“Heavy said ‘no’.”

We dropped the conversation after that. I drove as fast as I could through the trees, heading in no direction in particular. Spy was looking out the window, watching as branches from the trees nearly took my side-mirror off. Soldier was sitting between us, clinging to the back of the seats to keep him steady, staring straight ahead.

“WHERE ARE WE GOING?” Soldier asked, breaking the silence.

“I.. dunno mate.” I said. “Away from here I guess.”

Spy thought for a moment, his finger tapping the window crank.

“South.” Spy said.

“Why South?”

“Less snow.”

I couldn’t argue with that. South it is then. Hopefully, we’ll be able to figure out a way to contact the other team and set up a meeting spot. Maybe then we’ll be able to figure out what the hell we should do. Assuming they’re still alive after this. Assuming we are still alive after this...

“SNIPER!” Soldier yelled.

“What mate?”

“YOU ARE BLEEDING!”

I looked down. Blood was starting to soak through my shirt. Guess the slash was a bit deeper than I thought. It’ll have to wait until later though, since I can’t really stop driving while we’re possibly being pursued. Plus there’s nowhere to pull over.

“Oh.” I said. “Bugger.”

“Do you have a medi-kit?” Spy asked, checking his gloves.

“Yea.” I said, covering the wound with my hand. “It’s in the back though.”

“That’s alright. Don’t stop driving.”

“Spy what are ya doin’?”

With that, he climbed out of the passenger window and went to the back of the camper. I guess I wasn’t going to have to wait after all.

“... did he just climb out of the window?” I asked, glancing at my side-view mirrors. How he’s managing to avoid the branches is a mystery.

“AFFIRMATIVE!” Soldier said, eagerly watching Spy crawl down the side of the camper and enter one of the back windows.

I shook my head and continued driving. We have a long, long drive ahead of us. Maybe I’ll stop for some coffee and gas. Maybe get some dinner while we’re at it. Something other than green beans would be nice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pauling gets a new mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miss Pauling POV

I stood in the room silently, clutching my clipboard. The dim room was lit up only by the various monitors and screens that showcased the battlefield. Bodies, bits and blood covered the scene. Shards of bone and shrapnel embedded themselves in the walls and ground. Normally, this sort of carnage would be commonplace, just a part of their job. It would be expected, actually.

This time however, there was a sour undertone to them. Normally the bodies on the screen wouldn’t stay there for long. They’d be picked up by the Respawn machines, along with their weapons and clothing.

This time, their blood stained the soil permanently. Out of sheer desperation, the BLU Team managed to escape mostly unharmed, while the spy, seavy, and demo of the RED Team wound up dead. Their medic was frantically running around, desperate to try and heal the ones that were left, although he didn’t make it to their scout in time.

It didn’t have to happen. They’d managed to find the damage fast enough and tried to alert the other team, but she didn’t tell them to stop, she told them to keep going. And, like the mercenaries they were, they kept going.

Why?

The creak of Administrator’s chair broke me out of my thoughts. She was sitting in her chair, leaning on the armrest with her leg crossed over her other, taking a long drag of her cigarette. She watched the BLUs on the monitors gradually come to the horrific realization that their Respawn was down with cold indifference. Actually, she might be smiling.

“I said you were excused for today, Miss Pauling.” She said, not taking her eyes off of the monitors. Was she Smiling? I couldn’t tell in the low light.

I stood in the doorway, almost too afraid to move.

“Why?” I asked, voice a bit quieter than I had hoped. She had to have a good reason right? She has to!

She turned her head a bit towards me, breaking her fixation with the screens. “Miss Pauling, you’ve never questioned me before.”

“I know!” I said, trying to reassure my loyalty. “I know, but I’d still like… some sort of… reasoning. Normally you don’t like to--”

I stared up at the screens.

“--be wasteful…”

She turned her chair around, her focus now fully on me.

“Do you remember about two months ago?” She said, smiling. “When we moved them to Coldfront due to a deal I made?”

“Yes.” I said, trying to find the connection. “But what--”

“Part of their offer was that they would study our Respawn machines.” She said, leaning forward in her chair. “And they would pay us an unimaginably large sum of Australium.”

I nodded, not liking where this was going. I know they’re mercenaries and all, but still. This seemed to be a little… wrong.

“But why did you have to kill them?” I said.

She got up from her chair and walked over to me, smiling. She put her wrinkly hand on my shoulder, squeezing me a bit. I froze in place, looking up at her. I guess she was trying to be reassuring, but it really wasn’t all that helpful.

“That was the second part of the deal.” She said, smiling at me. “They destroy the Respawn machines and jam the radios, and we deal with the cleanup.”

Oh. I guess they wanted the teams dead. I suppose they didn’t want the two teams working together, that would make them difficult to kill.

“But some of them managed to escape!” I said, finding my voice again. 

She let go of my shoulder. “That’s where you come in. Tomorrow, you are to hunt down the remaining members of the RED and BLU teams.”

I nodded, writing that into the schedule.

“Any specifics?”

She thought for a moment, taking another drag of her cigarette. She blew a ring of smoke into the air.

“They wanted to finish off the BLU Sniper and Spy themselves, so leave them alone.” She said, thinking some more. “And don’t bother with the BLU Scout.”

“Alright. I’ll have them all dead within a week.”

“Good. Shut everything down for me.”

She left the room, leaving me standing alone in the darkness. The RED Team would be easy to find, since they’re still at Coldfront trying to figure out what happened, but the BLU Team was fragmented. They could honestly be anywhere at this point, since it’s been about thirty minutes since they escaped. I’ll deal with the RED Team first, possibly tonight so they don’t get the chance to escape.

I started to press some buttons on the control panel. Other than the warnings about the Respawn, everything seemed okay.

I pressed the final button to shut everything down. The room fell into darkness once I turned the lights and monitors off. I closed the door and locked it, grabbing my pistol from a locker nearby. My shoes clicked on the tiles as I walked out, preparing to hunt the rest of the teams down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter, I know, but I couldn't think of another way to integrate it without chopping up another chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scout wakes up in a strange area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scout's POV

Ya ever been kidnapped? It ain’t fun.

First, they blind ya, then tie your legs together (Because ya need your legs and they don’t want that), and then they gag ya so you can’t scream or call for help. It sucks!

I kinda wished I’d noticed them, but with all the stuff happening on the battlefield I just didn’t notice them sneaking up behind me. One minute I was looking for Soldier to tell him the respawn was down, the next, BOOM! Gagged and blinded in the blink of an eye. I think they dragged me onto a truck or something like that, but I can’t tell because, ya know, I’m blinded.

I hope everyone else got out okay. The RED Team still had their Respawn on, so I ain’t worried about them. Not that’d I care about them anyway, they’re assholes. So’s the Admin! She’s a real asshole. Still can’t believe she just turned on us like that! What does she even get outta this anyway? Are we that easy to replace? Sucks if we are.

Everyone else though, I dunno. I got captured way too early to tell. They’re probably okay, but I can’t tell. I know Heavy’s gonna get out okay, since Doc’s medi-gun thing is up his ass for 80% of the match anyway. Yea he’ll be fine.

Everyone else? Maybe. I mean, Hardhat’s smart enough to get outta anything, and Spy has that cloak watch thing he uses, so he’s probably okay. Sniper’s jumpy enough to get outta the situation before it gets too bad anyway, and probably brings a few other people with him.

Cyclops is definitely dead though. Which sucks, a lot. He was a great drinking buddy. That time when I got skewered by a skewer-grenade he made? Good times. I mean, it sucked the next day, since Doc had to pull skewers outta my face, but it was still fun while I was shit-faced. 

Heck, I’d probably be dead too if I wasn’t captured. As good at running away as I am, I’d probably run into the RED Spy with my luck.

Kinda wish somebody else was with me though. The two idiots carrying me aren’t really the talkative types, so I'm bored outta my mind. At least if someone else was here, then I’d be able to talk to somebody. Unless it was Mumbles, then I’d probably be on fire right now. Actually everything would be on fire right now.

I ain’t too worried though. I’ve gotten myself outta worse situations before. I mean, I had a weapon then, and the Respawn was still on, but still! If I could escape the RED Pyro’s jetpack and gas-passer, I could get outta this place. 

-

I really wish the guys carrying me at least wrapped me in a blanket. Like, I know you’re not supposed to be all buddy-buddy with your prisoner, I get that, but I won’t really be helpful if I freeze to death! Probably getting frostbite over here.

Not that I plan on being helpful anyway. Actually, I’ve been trying to escape for the past hour, but I can’t do much more than wiggle and complain about how stupid they are in my head. Man, these ropes were tight! I’m probably going to have some nasty bruises when I get outta here. Maybe in the escape I’ll get a cool scar like the one Spy has! Yea, that’d make this whole freezing-my-ass-off thing worth it. I think.

I shivered. I really wish they’d just used a blanket to tie me up. At least then I wouldn’t be freezing my nips off. Where the heck are they even taking me? I can’t see where we’re going.

Still haven’t figured out who these guys are yet. Are they working with anyone? Did they just catch me for ransom? They’ll be pretty disappointed if they’re trying to get money outta the Administrator.

Alright, calm down Scout! I can do this! I just gotta think of a way to get my legs and arms free, then I can… uh…

Fuck. I can’t move an inch and now my wrists hurt. Okay, think about what Spy taught you before he died! He probably taught me how to break ropes or get outta a situation like this right?

…

He didn’t teach me shit! Asshole just used me as bait half the time! He could’ve taught me something useful but nooo he just taught me how to date! I mean, I had a date with Miss Pauling, which was nice, but still! He couldn’t have taught me anything useful? Like how to break a knot while you’re tied up like a mummy?

Okay I didn’ really ask him to teach me anything like that, so it's kinda my fault. Doesn’t make it any better though. Asshole.

Aaand now my legs are starting to cramp. Wonderful. Not like I need those or anything. It’s not like my legs are my most important part of my body or anything. Holy shit why is it so freaking COLD--

Ow. They’d dropped me on the floor, which was cold, just like everything else. At first I thought they were just gonna leave me there, but then I heard a car door open, so they’re probably just gonna drive me somewhere. I wriggled again, trying to loosen my binds a bit since they aren’t here right now and can’t stop me. It didn’t work.

I heard a car engine start, and felt myself starting to move. Great, now I’m being taken even further from where I started. Anything else I should add to this crapheap?

My stomach growled. I forgot I only drank a can of Bonk for lunch. Great, now I’m cold, tied-up, AND hungry! What’s next? Are they gonna blind me? 

Oh, wait. That already happened.

“Was that your stomach?”

Wait, was he talking to me? Does he not know I can’t answer? Dumbass.

“No. Was it yours?”

Oh he was just talking to the other guy. He’s not that stupid then.

“No. Might’ve been the guy we captured.”

“Oh yea he’s probably hungry.”

Well at least it wasn’t quiet anymore. I like how they’re talking about me like I’m deaf. I mean, I guess it doesn’t matter since I can’t talk but still.

“We should probably get him some food and water.”

Ya know, I wouldn’t mind going for some nachos right now. Or pizza, I could do pizza too. Heck, I'd even be willing to eat that weird bear soup that Heavy makes sometimes. It ‘s chewy and gamey-tasting, but it’s still better than nothing.

“Think the boss will like that?”

“Well he said to keep him alive so I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Wait, are they actually gonna feed me or something? Huh. Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe they’ll give me a blanket too so I don’t freeze to death. Not sure why they want me alive though.

“We can get him some peanuts from the vending machine.”

I heard them open a door. I was lifted up off of the ground, on the move again. At least I’ll get some peanuts. Maybe they’ll be the honey-roasted kind I always get from the gas station.

“We could.”

Another not-car door opened. They put me in what felt like a chair in an upright position. Actually, it felt more like a couch than a chair, since I could feel a cushion beneath me. Either way, I’m not very comfortable. Not as uncomfortable as I was, but still uncomfortable. Plus I still can’t see, which sucks.

“Ya got any money on you?”

“... No.”

“Yes you do! I can see your wallet!”

“Just because I have a wallet doesn’t mean I have money.”

One of the guys sighed in exasperation. I could feel a hand going to the back of my neck to untie the gag, but they stopped. I shuddered, although whether it was because I’m cold or because the guy reminded me way too much of a spy about to stab my neck, I don’t know. I’m gonna go with the cold option. That’s right, I ain’t scared, just cold. Very, very cold.

“What’s up boss? You want him now? Alright.”

Wait, who wants me? Who hired these guys? Why me of all people? Why couldn’t they have just kidnapped Soldier or something? He’s a way better prisoner than I am. wait no he’s not. He’d be the worst prisoner and wouldn’t shut up about how he was gonna get out. Then he’d probably dig up some some stupid weapon he had buried nearby and then go all ape-shit on these people. 

Yea Soldier definitely should’ve been captured instead. Would’ve been way more interesting to watch.

“We have to get him to the boss’ office now.”

“Alright.”

Guess I wasn’t getting any food. They lifted me up again, carrying me with ease. Hopefully, wherever they’re taking me isn’t too far. The ropes were really starting to dig into my skin.

Actually, they didn’t take me far. After a silent ride in an elevator that felt like it took hours, I was put in a chair. It was a pretty comfortable chair, made comfortable thanks to a leather cushion. It was like Snipe’s van, except this one didn’t smell like piss and the leather isn’t gone.

What were they gonna do now? Tourture me? I mean, I don’t know what else they’d do. I mean, they could use me as bait or something, but I don’t think anyone else even knows I‘m here. 

I really hope they don’t tourture me.

A hand was placed near the back of my neck again. I tensed up, a chill running down my spine, waiting for some kinda pain or needle or something, but it never came. All at once, my gag and blindfold were gone, my hands and legs were free. Whirling around and raising my fists, I got into a boxing stance, ready to kick some ass.

Turns out, nobody was there. I was in some sorta office that smelled like coffee, gunpowder, and pine trees. There was the chair I was just sitting in, a desk with a bunch of papers, and a bigger chair behind it. There was also a door back there, and a weird monitor that was just showing static.

Everything made of wood had these fancy carvings on them. They weren’t too fancy, but they did seem like they’d be expensive to buy. Kinda gave the whole place a warm, fuzzy feeling. I’d love it if I wasn’t currently being held hostage.

There was also this weird hum from below me. It kinda sounded like a weird version of the Respawn machine, but I think it’s just some sort of generator or AC thing. Not that this place needed AC or anything. Place was freaking cold enough already.

Speaking of AC, there was actually an unlit fireplace in the room. Looks like it was used recently. Why the hell it was out now rather than keeping the room warm I’ll never know. Maybe the guy who owns the office likes the cold or something. Weirdo.

Looking outta the window, I saw more snow and mountains. I dunno if that’s a good or a bad thing, but at least I’m still in the same part of the country. I think.

I tried to open the door behind me, but it was locked. I guess I could use one of those pens on the desk in order to try and pick the lock on the door. Or I could just punch it and unlock it from the outside. That’ll probably work way better.

I balled up my fist and punched the door with all my might. The door didn’t even budge. I didn’t even leave a dent! I did manage to probably break my hand though, which was great.

I rubbed my sore hand, which was starting to bruise. Guess I’ll have to use some finesse in order to get outta here. I guess I could try jimmying the lock with the pen? Or I could just try punching the door again with my other hand.

Yea no. I shoved the papers on the desk aside, hoping to find some sort of pencil or pen. I didn’t find either, but I did manage to find a weird cassette tape. It was a cream color, and had the letters “MC.” written in pen on it. Wonder if it had any music on it.

I shoved it aside, still looking for a stupid pen. What kinda guy has all these stupid papers laying around like freaking leaves but no pen? Like, seriously! It’s like the guy knew I was going to try and use the pen to escape--

A doorknob rattled. The door behind the desk clicked open. I jumped, taking a few steps back, nearly tripping over the chair leg behind me. I raised my fist, ready to fight whoever came outta the door.

A guy came outta the door. A really big guy, and I ain’t talking about fat. He was twice my height at least, pretty much all muscle, and wore a business suit and black-and-gold striped tie to match. He had rust-colored hair combed back a bit, although it still fuzzed up in some areas. He also had gloves on his hands, although I don’t really know why.

Okay maybe I wasn’t ready to fight anyone who came outta the door. This guy looked like he could snap me like a toothpick. Like, holy shit how did this guy even get through the door without me hearing his footsteps thundering down the hallway?

He sat down in the chair across from me, clasping his hands and setting them on his desk. He grinned, flashing his gold-plated tooth. 

“Hello Jeremy.” He said, his voice steady and calm. “Sorry for your… rough treatment.”

Oh okay he’s friendly. That’s good!

“It’s fine!” I said, sitting back down in my chair. “I’m used to it!”

“I’m sure you are.”

He looks really familiar, like I’ve seen him before-- wait is he the guy from the coffee aisle? Holy shit he is. He’s a lot bigger than I remember him being, and way scarier. Maybe it’s because I’m stuck in his office.

“Hey you’re the guy from the coffee aisle!” I said.

He raised an eyebrow, his grin widening a bit. Normally that’d be a good thing, but this guy seemed a little… hungry? I dunno. I didn’t like it.

“And you’re Jeremy?” He asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Yea! Honestly, I didn’t expect to see you again! Kinda far away from that dingy mall I saw ya in”

He half-shrugged his shoulder casually.

“Well, that happens sometimes.” He said, glancing at his desk and grabbing the MC cassette, gently putting it into his suit pocket. “People move.”

Did he really just happen to move here? Or he was on a business trip or something like that. I mean, he didn’t seem like the kinda guy to hang out in a crappy coffee aisle-- wait I forgot to buy Spy his baseball helmet! Guess it’ll have to wait now. Man, I really wanted to play some baseball with him! Although the snow would make it really hard.

“I still think it’s a little weird.”

“It is, but nothing too concerning.”

While he was talking, he was casually re-arranging the stuff on his desk. The stuff I pushed aside to try and find a pen were neatly put back into the place they were before. One by one every paper, clip, and thumbtack found its place. I was surprised his giant hands could be so precise. Well, hand. His other hand was still on the table.

“Yea, not too concern--” I stopped myself, realizing I was just kidnapped. “--Wait why the hell did ya kidnap me?”

“Because--” He leaned forward in his chair, now fully focused on me. “I want to know a few things.”

I leaned back in my chair. His eyes were boring into my soul, like he was trying to find any sort of weakness. He was a lot nicer in the coffee aisle.

“What kinda stuff?” I asked. My eyes were darting around the room, trying to find a way to escape. Other than the fireplace, there really wasn’t any way I could get out.

“Just a few things.” He said, still grinning. “Do you have a family?”

Wait, what? Family? I thought this guy wanted some important info like where my teammates are or if I had the rare Babe Ruth collectors edition card or something like that.

“Uh… yea?” I said, confused.

He nodded, pulling out a pitcher and two glasses from underneath his desk. They had some fancy carvings on them too, although they weren’t made outta wood, just some fancy glass. He started to pour water from the pitchers into the glasses.

“What sort of family?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the glasses.

“Just my Ma.” I said, thinking. “Oh yea! I got like seven brothers too!”

“Really now?” He handed me a glass of water. “Must’ve been exhausting.”

“Oh yea it was--” I took a sip of my water. “--I dunno how my Ma managed to handle it. Must’ve been a lot of dirty diapers to change!”

“Your father didn’t help?” He asked, drinking his whole glass in one gulp.

“Nah. He ditched us when I was really young.” I said, crossing my arms. “Haven’t seen him since.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking confused and interested at the same time.

“Really?” He asked, looking a bit… happy? I dunno how to put it. He looked like he just found a penny on the sidewalk and was going to go brag about it to everyone. Problem is, he was terrifying.

“Yea.” I said. “He left a while ago. He gave me a birthday gift every year though! Well, until I turned ten, then he stopped.”

He just nodded along, pouring himself another glass of water and listening to what I was saying.

“I actually have a family too.” He said, taking a sip.

“Wait really? You?”

“Yes.”

“Your wife must be pretty happy!”

His grin fell, changing into a look of disappointment. He put his glass down on his desk, a little harder than he needed to.

“She’s dead.” He said flatly.

“Oh shit sorry.” I said, fumbling through an apology. “Uh, ya got any kids ya wanna talk about instead so ya forget about what I said?”

Clauden thought for a moment, studying my face. His grin returned, spreading across his face. Guess he was in a better mood?

“I have a son.” He said, leaning back in his chair and thinking. “He’s about your age, give or take a few years.”

“Wait really? Where is he?”

He waved his hand dismissively.

“He’s somewhere around here, probably doing something stupid with the guards.”

“Cool!”

“Yes, cool.”

Clauden shifted in his chair, getting in a more comfortable position. Ya know, despite telling me he wanted to ask questions, he hasn’t really asked about anything useful, just some family stuff. Nothing that would be worth kidnapping someone over. He probably wants something else. He definitely wants something else.

“...Sooo” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Why did ya kidnap me? Really! I mean, most people kidnap to get some info and bait n’ stuff like that. Not to just talk about family”

Clauden raised an eyebrow, still grinning. He stood up from his chair and walked around his desk, stopping in front of me. I shrunk a bit, sinking into the chair. He towered over me like a skyscraper. He was a lot more intimidating up close.

“You’ll find out soon.” He said, leaning down a bit.

“Soon?” I said, annoyed. I stood up, squaring my shoulders and staring at him without fear. Or at least, I hoped it was without fear. “Why the hell not n--”

He put his hand on my shoulder, pushing me back down into the chair easily. HIs hand felt really hard though his gloves, like it was made of rocks. And, just like everything else, it was cold as hell.

“Soon.” Was all he said.

I looked up at him. He still had that same intimidating look from the coffee aisle, but now it seemed way more unnerving. He kinda looked like

“Who the hell are ya anyway?” I asked, swallowing my nerves. Maybe I can get something useful outta this mess.

His grin widened a bit. “Clauden.”

Fuck.

“Oh fuck.” I said, eyes widening.

He straightened his back, getting a predatory gleam in his eye. I really, really need to get outta here. There’s no way I can beat this guy and his freaking regenerating thing. Isn’t he supposed to be dead? What the fuck? What the hell was going on!

We stared at each other for a moment, waiting for each other to make a move. The only sound was the weird humming from below. Wind howled outside as we stared at each other in a standoff.

Man, I wish I still had my weapons.

He moved first. In a flash, he reached towards me. I ducked under his hand, rolling to the side and scrambling to get to the window. Maybe, If I’m strong enough, I can bust out and hope that I ain’t too high up.

I ran over, punching the window and cracking it. I was going to punch it again, but he grabbed me from behind. He lifted me up by the back of my shirt like a cat, holding me above the floor. I kicked and punched, trying to get him to let go.

“LET GO OF ME YA--”

I didn’t finish. He slammed me into his desk, face-first. My nose broke. Papers and other desk stuff went everywhere, littering the floor. His hand slowly closed on the back of my neck. I struggled, trying to grab something, anything to get out of his grip.

“Ow!” I said, still struggling. “Let go!”

I can’t reach him! There’s no way I can get my arms to bend that far back. Fuck!

“Let’s see here…” He said, lifting me up and throwing me.

I crashed into the wall and slid to the ground, sore and probably concussed.

“You could have just kept the conversation going, jeremy.” He said, walking over. He picked me up by the neck.

“I… DID!” I spat out, kicking and clawing at his arm. He didn’t seem fazed.

He shook his head, holding me like you’d hold a pissed-off cat. He pinned me to the wall, looking me over. Blood was streaming down my face from my nose, sliding down my face and onto his sleeve as he held me against the wall.

“Whaddya lookin’ at ya overgrown-- hrrk!”

I can’t breathe! He’s crushing my throat! 

Slowly, my breathing turned into a raspy wheeze as he crushed my windpipe like a plastic cup. He’s grinning while he does this too! The sick fuck! Who does that? I mean, I grin whenever I bludgeon someone with my bat so-- wait I can’t breathe! Fuckfuckfuckfuck--

He raised his other arm, which was robotic, grinning like Doc did when he found out we respawned when we died. This time though, we won’t.

The edges of my eyes are starting to get all fuzzy. This ain’t good. This ain’t good at all. Worse still, I can’t really move my arms and legs anymore. I can’t breathe like, at all. I can’t even wheeze anymore and everything is going black and holy shit why does my stomach hurt so much fuckfuckfuckfuck--

I hit the floor again, but I can’t really tell what's going on anymore. I feel like I’m leaking from my stomach. Is that red? Yea that’s red. Blood probably. That’s probably why my stomach was so wet earlier. Blood.

Well this sucks. I mean, I can kinda breathe now, but I still can’t see where I’m going now. I think they blinded me again? I can’t move my legs, so they probably tied me up again. Maybe I should just fall asleep? Yea I can do that. I can fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sniper's POV

We rode along the icy road in silence.

Spy was still in the passenger seat next to me, leaning against the window of my van with a troubled expression on his face. He hasn’t said a word since he got me the medi-kit from the back of my van, other than to make sure I was okay. Still don’t know how he managed to not get hit with one of those tree branches back there. Guess he got lucky.

Soldier hasn’t said a word either, which was more than a bit worrying. Normally you couldn’t get him to shut up on a boring road trip like this. Instead of talking my ear off like he usually does, he was sitting behind our seats, wedged between the back of our chairs and the wall, half-looking at the road ahead of us in silence.

I was driving with one hand, my other crossing over my stomach to cover the wound on my side. It wasn’t deep or anything, but it still hurt enough to bug me. Everytime we hit a bump or a pothole in the road I could feel my side ignite. Bloody hurt.

We’ve only been on the road for a few hours, but It feels like we’ve been driving for days. We haven’t seen any sign of anybody else, even from the other team. Actually, I haven’t seen any animals either, which is never a good sign.

The rest of my team is somewhere. We don’t have any way to contact them. The radio earpieces we have don’t reach that far, and none of us have phones. I don’t even know if they’re alive. For all I know they could be dead. Or dying. Or about to be dead or dying.

What the hell are we gonna do?

“Sniper?” Spy said suddenly. I jumped.

“Yea?” I asked, regaining my composure. “What do ya need, mate?”

“Would you like me to drive?” He asked, a worried expression on his face. He always had a worried look on his face. That, or his famous fake smile that you can’t tell apart from his real one.

“There ain’t really a good place to pull over.” I said. “Besides, I can drive.”

“Alright.”

“I CAN DRIVE!” Solider bellowed from behind, standing up behind and grabbing the headrests.

“That’s not necessary, Soldier.” Spy said calmly. “Perhaps later.”

Solider nodded in response, sitting back down. He looked a little disappointed. I was tempted to let him dive, but that seemed like a bad idea. The Badlands were mostly just a flat area of desert, free from anything other than cactus and the occasional canyon. This place is an icy roller-coaster of death and pine trees.

I kept my eyes on the road ahead, trying to stay focused. Evergreens lined the narrow road ahead, lining the sides of the icy road like fence posts. I could hear some branches hitting the sides of my camper as I sped through the forest.

How are we even gonna know if the other team is dead? It’s not like we can just call them, and my radio fell out of my ear a while ago. Not that it would be able to reach this far anyway. Bloody thing had the range of

I glanced over at Spy. He was fiddling with his Cloaking watch, probably trying to fix the time on it or something. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, muttering something about a spring or a cog not working.

It’s funny watching him fiddle with his watch. Despite looking a lot more intimidating, Spy is a lot less experienced with everything than Spook was. He’s a whole lot less grateful and level-headed than Spook was. Then again, Spy can climb up walls and seems a bit more flexible than Spook and his smoker’s lung could ever be. Although Spook was a lot better at disguises...

Maybe I should just stop comparing them. It isn’t helping.

“Hey Spy,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road. “You’re a spy right? You’re been one for a while?”

He raised an eyebrow. “...Yes. Why?”

“Ya happen to know any way to contact the team?”

He thought for a moment, tapping his finger on his watch as he thought.

“Well…” He said. “Normally, when I have to contact someone, we would have set up a way to contact beforehand. We didn’t do that.”

“We didn’t do that…” I repeated.

“WE HAVE THE RADIOS!” Soldier said, taking his ear piece out of his ear so he could show us.

“I don’t think they’ll reach this far.” Spy said, taking out his own. “Besides, there’s no guarantee they have their intact. A lot could have happened while they were escaping.”

Dread crept up my spine. I guess there really was no way to contact them. They’re probably going to be hunted down and shot like dogs and there’s nothing I can do about it. Bugger.

“...Although, we could possibly... track them.”

I perked up. Track them? Like an animal? Can we do that?

“Track ‘em?” I asked, a smile starting to pull on the corners of my mouth. There was a chance.

“Yes.” He responded, clicking a button on his watch and giving me a small smile to match mine. “We don’t have any way to contact them, but by tracking them we’ll have a chance.”

His smile faltered a bit.

“A small chance.” He said, thinking some more. His grin left his face, being replaced by a sad look of realization. “Or... we’ll just lead the RED Team right to them.”

My heart sank again. He had a point. There’s a really big chance we might just lead the RED Team right to them, and then we’ll all be dead.

“WE ARE BETTER AS A TEAM!” Soldier yelled, not willing to give up just yet .”AND WE WILL FIND THEM!”

“Yes, but I’d rather not make it easier for the RED Team.” Spy said, trying to think. “If we’re separated, we’ll be much more difficult to find than if we traveled in a group.”

Solider had a point; we are much stronger as a team. We might be able to handle the RED Team if we’re all in the same place and backing each other up. Since they’re too far away from their Respawn to get back in time, we’ll be on an even playing field.

We have a chance, one I’m not willing to give up this easily.

“Ya know,” I said. “The RED Team’s probably going to find ‘em anyway. At least if we find ‘em first, we’ll have a fighting chance.”

Spy thought for a moment, weighing our limited options. He shifted in the seat, avoiding a stain in the cracked leather, still looking uncertain.

“...You two have a point.” He eventually said, sighing. “We can try and track them…. As long as we’re careful.”

“WE WILL FIND THEM FIRST!” Solider said, grinning.

“I hope so.”

I nodded. We have a plan now: track our team down. Easier said than done unfortunately. I know they’re not a very quiet bunch, but trying to find them in the mountains is going to be a bloody pain. We don’t even know what direction they actually went! They could’ve hijacked a plane and flown to Florida for all we know.

I adjusted my glasses, keeping my eyes glued onto the road ahead. It was starting to snow now, with little sprinkles of white landing on the road ahead of me. Hopefully it won’t get too bad, otherwise we’ll have to pull over at a hotel or something. This van isn’t meant for this much bloody snow.

-

It was really starting to snow now. Snow was starting to pile up on the road, slowing us down a bit. I clenched my jaw in frustration. There’s no way I’d be able to pull over

“Sniper? Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” Spy said, shifting a bit in his seat.

“I’m fine.” I said, tightening the grip on my steering wheel. “Just a bit frustrated is all.” Guess I was getting a bit tense-- 

wait what is that?

“Are you su--”

I cut him off. “Hold on, I see something.”

Tire tracks were seen in the snow on the road. Little flecks of black and silver littered the road like Pyro’s glitter, becoming more and more obvious as we drove on.

“What the hell?” I mumbled, glancing up and down the road. “Someone blow a tire?”

I saw a break in the foliage just off the road. A green-colored truck had plowed through the bushes and crashed into the pine trees, wrapping the front of the vehicle around the trunk of the now-broken tree. Shards of metal littered the area, and one of the back tires were shredded.

I’ve seen this truck before, I just can’t remember where exactly. Medic has a truck, but not this color or type.

My stomach dropped, and my heartbeat picked up speed. I quickly stopped the van and ran out towards the truck.

“ENGIE!” I yelled, hoping to get a response.

There was none. I kicked my door open and ran out, nearly tripping and falling when I tripped on a tree root.

“Is that the Engineer’s truck?” Spy asked, panic starting to fill his voice.

“NO!” Soldier said.

I ran towards the driver side of the truck. There’s no way Engie could’ve lived through something like this. How long was he here? Where’s everybody else? 

Soldier and Spy caught up with me. I was trying to open the car door

With a grunt, we managed to open it. Inside, the RED Sniper was sitting in the driver seat, hunched over the steering wheel. He had been impaled by what looked like a chunk of the dashboard, which had wedged itself in his stomach. Blood was flowing form the wound, flowing onto the floor of his truck.

As painful and bloody as he looked, I’ll admit I’m a little relieved. At least we know this guy isn’t after us, although he wasn’t being particularly aggressive during the fight.

“He’s… still alive.” Spy said, wincing. “Although he won’t be for long.”

“WHY ARE YOU HERE!” Soldier yelled, hoping to get an answer from the Sniper. “ANSWER ME, MAGGOT!”

“Soldier, I don’t think--”

The RED Sniper shifted slightly, balling his hand into a fist. He groaned in agony, then opened an eye, covering his stomach with his arm.

“The BLU…?” He mumbled, straining just to make a sound.

“ ‘Ello.” Spy said, pulling out his revolver. “Don't worry, it’ll be over soon.”

The RED Sniper briefly looked up at Spy, then down at his revolver, eyes widening a bit. 

“W--,” The RED Sniper coughed, causing blood to stream down the corner of his mouth. “Wait…”

Spy paused, looking at the Sniper in confusion.

“Yes?” He said calmly. “What is it?”

“Both…” The Sniper took a shaky breath, struggling to talk. “Both Respawns...”

Spy nodded, trying to encourage him to continue.

“Down.” The Sniper said. “Both… down.”

What? They’re both down? Why did the Admin only say one was down then? Where is the rest of this guy’s team? Are they dead? They probably are.

Bugger.

“They… are?” Spy said, raising his eyebrows in suprise. “So... the rest of your team…”

The RED Sniper nodded solemnly, looking more than a little upset. 

“Dead.” He said, gasping for air. “...Or… Gone.”

Despite getting killed by his stupid arrows more than a few times, I kinda felt bad for the guy. The few times both teams had to team up, he seemed like the nicest of the RED Team. Always had a cheerful smile on his face, although he was always a bit scatter-brained.

“WE HAVE BEEN LIED TOO!” Soldier yelled, balling up his fists.

“It appears as though we have been.” Spy said, singing in disappointment.

Spy took a few steps back, then aimed his revolver at the Sniper’s head again, finger on the trigger.

“Thank you.” Spy said, giving the man a small, warm smile, trying to give him some semblance of comfort. “We’ll try to help your teammates.”

The RED Sniper just closed his eyes, bracing himself. With a loud bang, a bullet was put cleanly through his head. 

Silence filled the air. Spy put his revolver away and sighed.

“...So both respawns are down.” Spy said. “Which means that the rest of the RED Team is probably just as… fragmented as we are.”

“THAT IS A GOOD THING!” Soldier said.

“It could be.” I said, adjusting my hat. “At least we ain’t gonna be hunted as much by ‘em.”

Spy didn’t seem as upbeat as me and Soldier are. He looked over the rear end of the truck, trying to figure something out. His foot tapped the snow rhythmically beneath him.

“Sniper?” He said, turning towards me. “How do you think he crashed?”

“He veered off the side of the road?” I said, anxiety starting to claw its way back into my brain. Spy was right; something isn’t right.

Spy shook his head, walking to the end of the truck. I followed him,

“...Somebody shot the back wheel.” Spy said, staring at the suspiciously shredded wheel. While the others had some signs of wear, this one was the only one that was completely destroyed.

“It could have just… popped.” I said. I hope I’m right.

Spy considered it, then nodded.

“Possibly, yes.” He said, sighing. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid…” 

I started heading back to the camper with Soldier, but Spy didn’t follow us. He was still staring at the truck, tapping his foot. He walked over to the bumper, examining it closely.

“Spy?” I asked, walking towards him. “Something catch your--”

I cut myself off. On the bumper, near the shredded back tire, was a collection of bullet holes. They lined the bumper like holes in swiss cheese, trailing from the middle of the bumper to the lower part near the shredded tire.

Somebody shot at this guy. It wasn’t an accident.

“He was shot at.” I mumbled.

“Yes.” Spy said. “Multiple times it seems.”

He leaned a bit closer.

“Specifically, some sort of low-caliber weapon.”

“WAS IT OUR TEAM?” Soldier asked, running over to see what Spy found.

“Possibly.” Spy said. “Or... it was somebody else.”

Somebody else? Who would shoot at him? His own team wouldn’t shoot at him would they? Was it an accident? With how close the cluster of shots are, it didn’t look like it was.

It could have been my teammates, since they didn’t know that both were down and probably assumed that he was after them. Although the fact it could have been someone else entirely was terrifying.

I looked at Spy and Soldier, hoping either of them could give an answer. Soldier was still examining the bullet holes, trying to find any other clues as to what happened. Spy had his hands clasped behind his back, tapping his foot in the snow to an inaudible beat.

“It might have been Clauden’s men…” He said, thinking. “Although it still wouldn’t explain why they would attack the RED Team.”

“Yea.” I said, staring at the truck. “They don’t have a grudge against the RED Team.”

“They don’t, so why--”

“I HAVE FOUND AMMO!” Soldier bellowed, pulling a large wooden box of rifle ammo and arrows out from the bottom of the truck. 

“Good job, Soldier.” Spy said, giving Soldier a smile. “Now we have some much n--”

Soldier dropped the box into Spy’s arms. He stumbled a bit, then regained his footing, straining to hold up the box.

“Thanks mate!” I said, taking the box from Spy’s arms. “I was starting to run low.”

“YOU ARE WELCOME!” Soldier said, grinning.

I grabbed the box from Spy and carried the box back to the camper, shoving it under my bed. Now, whatever happens, we’ll at least have some ammo. Well, at least I have ammo. These bullets won’t fit in Spy’s revolver or Soldier’s rocket launcher.

Everyone climbed back into their spots. This time, Soldier was riding shotgun while Spy sat behind the seats. He seemed even more uncomfortable back there, trying to avoid touching the walls.

I turned the engine on, leaning back into my chair. I gave one last uncertain look towards the RED Sniper’s truck, which stood as a tomb on the side of the road. I have a sinking feeling that we are going to need the extra ammo.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scout's POV

Where the hell am I? I’m blinking, trying to see something other than a bright light. My head is pounding like a bongo drum, and everything was all wiggly and fuzzy and unclear.

This ain’t the room I got knocked out in, I know that much. Rather than all the fancy wooden furniture and stuff, this room was pretty empty, other than the cheap, plastic chair I was sitting in of course. The walls were grey and boring, having nothing but some metal bolts to keep the panels together and a plain-looking door in front of me. A weird light was the only thing illuminating the room, giving everything an artificial white glow.

Man this place is depressing. And boring. It’s like all the color of the office was sucked up by a vacuum. Didn't help that the place was freakishly clean. Kinda reminded me of Medic’s office to be honest, except with a lot less needles and pigeons. Doves, Whatever his stupid birds are.

I shifted, feeling the ropes that kept me tied rub against my arms and legs. Guess they tied me up this time. Worse, there was a shard of metal sticking out from the chair leg that kept sticking me in my calf. It sucks.

A sharp pain grabbed my attention. Turns out, the blood from earlier was from a cut on my stomach. A long, pretty precise-looking claw mark that went across my stomach. It was still bleeding too, which ain’t helping at all. Probably ruined my tattoo too! I paid good money for that! At least I’ll get a cool scar when I get outta here. Although, with the way things are going, I might be here a while.

I flexed, trying to pull the ropes apart. The only thing I managed to do was make myself tired. Okay, that won’t work. Maybe I can--

The door in front of me opened. I snapped my head up, trying to see who was walking in. Turned out to be Clauden and a few of his guards.

“Good morning Jeremy.” He said, giving me a grin, his golden tooth just barely visible. Fuck, I probably shouldn’t have told him my real name.

“Screw you!” I said, glaring at him and still trying to pull myself out of the ropes.

One of his goons left the room, closing and locking the door behind him. The other one just kinda stood near the door, hands clasped behind his back, probably making sure I didn't just bolt outta the door if I somehow managed to get outta the chair. Actually, he kinda looked like the guy from that weird store me and Soldier went too a while ago. Is it him? I can’t really tell from here. If it is then this is about to get kinda awkward.

Clauden approached me, stopping in front of me and bending down so he was eye-level with me.

“I have a few questions to ask you.” He said, still smiling. His voice was pretty calm for an interrogation. Normally there’d be a guy screaming at you and demanding answers, right?

“Well too bad!” I said, glaring at him. “ ‘Cause I ain’t giving you any answers!”

Clauden’s grin widened a smidge and he put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it a little too tightly. He patted my back a few times, then removed his hand, clasping them behind his back.

“That’s what they all say.” He said, removing his hand and straightening his back, still grinning. “Fortunately for us, you’ll give us the answers either way.”

“Yea sure I will.” I said, trying to keep my confidence up. 

Honesty though, I’m fucking terrified. This guy is so calm right now like what the hell is he planning? How the hell am I going to get outta here? I’m stuck! The door’s locked and there’s like two guys guarding it! Fuck!

“So,” He said, his smile fading a bit. “Where is your Spy and Sniper?”

Great. Now he’s actually asking questions.

“I don’t know!” I said, fighting against the ropes. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t be tellin’ you!”

The guy by the door was in the middle of checking his weapon, and Clauden was thinking, scratching his chin.

“You don’t know where they are…” He said, training off. “They’re not the best at planning, are they?”

“Hey!” I said, trying to defend myself. “We’re great at planning!”

Clauden just raised an eyebrow, then shook his head.

“Sure you are.” He said, walking around me, circling me like a shark. “Are you sure you don’t know where they are?”

“I already told ya!”

I don’t know where they are. I kinda wished I did, so I’d at least have somewhere specific to go once I manage to get outta here, but I don’t. Heck, I don’t even know if they’re even alive! For all I know the RED Team could’ve just finished them off.

I sank into the chair a little bit. Man, there really was no-one out there huh? I mean, I wouldn’t really want them to be here, since they’d probably just be captured too, but still. At least I’d have some company or something. Now I just feel kinda lonely.

“You’re lying.” Clauden said, stopping behind me.

“Wha--”

In less than a second, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and wrenched my head back. He was looming over me like a shadow, easily holding me in place. His smile was gone, replaced with a look of seriousness and contempt.

“Where are they?” He said again, sounding much more serious this time. His voice still had that weird, steady calmness to it though. Kinda creepy to be honest.

“Ow! Fuck! I told ya I don’t--”

He pulled me back just a little further, tugging on my scalp and hurting my neck. I gritted my teeth, trying to fight the tears that were starting form in my eyes.

“Where are they?” He said again.

“I… Don’t… Know!” I said.

He let go of my hair, walking to my left. He’s thinking about something.

“Do you know where any of your teammates are?” He asked.

My calf bumped into the shard of metal in the chair leg again. I feel blood starting to run down my leg again.

“I don’t!” I said. Great, now I’m bleeding.

“So you’re telling me--” He grabbed the back of the chair. “--That nobody on your team thought to fill you in on your location?”

“Yep!”

“... You’re a bunch of idiots.”

“Hey!”

He started walking towards the door, looking a bit disappointed. He stopped by the guy next to the door and bent down to whisper something in his ear that I couldn’t hear. The guy nodded and stepped aside to let Clauden out.

“Do it quickly.” Clauden said. “This time there shouldn’t be any unwanted visitors.”

He turned the knob on the door handle and let himself out. What the hell are they gonna do with me now? Kill me?

Probably.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. Maybe there is a way to get outta here. There’s gotta be a way! Come on Jeremy! Think!

The guard was walking towards me, taking his sweet time. Good thing he’s so slow.

“Fuck.” I said out loud, trying to pull myself out of the ropes. Still ain’t working.

The goon just walked around me. I heard the tell-tale sign of a gun cocking. This is not how I wanted to die! Not like this when I’m all tied up and I hit my fucking leg on the shitty chair that they put me in again-

Wait, hold the phone. If this stupid chair has a leg sharp enough to cut skin, could it cut rope? I sure hope so.

I raised my knee. a bit, twisting my torso to align myself with the sharp metal. Pushing my legs down, I managed to slice through the ropes on my legs. I was free!

I stood up quickly, nearly taking the chair with me. A gunshot hit the back of the chair, missing my half a second. The guard fired at me again, but I managed to side-step and kick the chair into him. Great, he’s distracted! Let’s get outta here.

Kicking the door down with my feet, I sprinted down the hallway, hands still tied tightly behind my back. I know they took my bat and Scattergun, but I still kinda wished I had time to free my hands and steal one of their guns. It’d make trying to find an exit in this place way easier.

Speaking of exits, I wasn’t really having any luck finding one. The closest things to exits I could find were windows, and we were way too high up for me to jump outta them. Nothing but rocks and snow would be able to break my fall.

A bullet suddenly flew past my face, tearing a hole in the doorway I was passing though. Right, surrounded by enemies right now. Gotta find a way to get out.

I dashed through another doorway, slamming the door behind me. I saw some little bead-shaped things lining the walls. Kinda looked like they were made of glass? Dunno. They look kinda cool though.

Turning around a corner, I ended up bumping into a guard.

“Uh-oh.” I said, out loud, like an idiot.

The guard whirled around and pulled out his pistol. I kicked him in the stomach, trying to get him to keel over. He stumbled into the wall, dropping his gun. Normally I would’ve just shot him, but I can’t really move my hands right now, so he's just gonna have to sit there.

Man, I really wish I had my bat right now. I’d make dealing with these guys so much easier! I mean, rather than running around like a chicken, I’d be able to just smack them upside the head and be done with it. But no, they just had to tie my hands up too! What’d they even expect me to do with my hands?! Walk on them? Whatever, doesn’t matter.

Good news is I’m kinda used to running around while getting shot at. I’m usually the one who has to go head-on into battle and push the cart and stuff like that. So this’ll be a cakewalk!

Barreling through another doorway, kicking a guy in the shins as I walked by. He fell face-first into the ground. Another bullet whizzed by my face. Then another. Then a bunch more. Crap there’s a whole lotta guards. I gotta get outta the hallway.

I kicked down a door and kept running, nearly tripping over a chair. Another bullet just missed my side. I spun around on my heel and kicked the chair out into the hallway, hitting the guy who shot at me and his stupid freind.

Not breaking my stride, I kept running, kicking down the door on the other side of the room and rushing through it. Turns out, it just led to another hallway. This one had a bunch of windows though, so that must mean something. At least I’m closer to the outside right?

Snow was starting to pile up outside, frosting the windows. Smudges of green and white where all I could see outside the windows as I jogged down the hall. Problem was, the green smudges were really small, which means I must be really high up. I know they could just be really tiny trees, but I don’t think there’d be a random patch of tiny trees in the mountain. Wouldn’t make much sense.

Okay the ropes around my wrists are starting to get really annoying. Man I wish I had the time to cut the rope on the chair--

Pain suddenly shot up my leg, and I fell face-first into the floor, tripping over my own foot. A burning feeling was pooling in my leg, and I think I’m bleeding again.

“OW!” I cried out. Blood pooled from my knee onto the floor,

“Good shot.” A familiar voice said.

“Thank you, Sir.” Another voice said, this one closer.

Fuck, one of them sounds like Clauden. Guards are blocking only exits. 

I’m stuck. Of course they just had to hit my knee. They had to hit my best feature! They could’ve hit my arm or my chest but no! They hit my knee. Speaking of knees, my knee was really starting to hurt, and the only thing I can do right now is try to not fall over. I can’t run, can’t fight, my hands are literally tied.

Clauden was walking towards me, grinning. Each step he took was confident and steady, like he knew exactly what he was doing. He probably does too.

The guard that shot me put his gun away and lifted me up by my shirt collar, pinning me to the window. He was standing off to the side, so it was kinda hard for him to hold me up like this for so long. At least he didn’t grab me by the neck. That would really hurt.

“At least you’re not too heavy.” The guard mumbled.

Clauden was getting closer, still grinning.

“Thought you could get away that easily?” He said, pulling out his pistol. Was he really going to kill me? Why didn’t he just do it earlier?

“Kinda.” I said, looking behind me. There wasn’t anything but a frosted window. Fuck.

I’m stuck, trapped in this hallway. He had his goons blocking both exits, and there was nowhere I can go! Should I just give up?

Clauden just stopped in front of me, aiming his pistol at me. This is it. This is how I die. I mean, I could try running past the guards, but they’d just shoot me if he didn’t, so it’s honestly kinda pointless.

Clauden’s grinning like a shark. He knows I’m trapped. Funnily enough, he still hasn’t shot me yet.

“You know, if you’d just tell me where your team is, I’ll let you go.” He said, lowering his pistol slightly. “Or, if you really don’t know, you could help me find them. I’ll pay you well.”

“Bullshit!” I said, looking behind me. The window was situated over what looked like a hill. I think. I didn’t really have a good view from where I was.

“You don’t have any other options.” He said, motioning towards me. “You’re trapped you know.”

I mean, I guess I could just jump outta the window. I can’t really see where it leads, but it’s gotta be better than here.

“Yea, well I still ain’t tellin’ ya where they are!” I said, taking a step forward. Does he still not believe I don’t know where they are?

He pointed the pistol at me again, looking disappointed. He’s about to say something, but I ain’t gonna hear it. I kicked the guy holding me in the chest, sending us both backwards.

The window shattered as I basically back-flipped through it. One of the guards reached for my legs, but he was too slow. Clauden’s giving me a disappointed look, like he can’t believe I just did something that stupid. Jokes on him- I got out! I ain’t gonna die today sucker!

Wait, shit. I’m falling like a rock. Wind whistled by my ears as branches and rocks flew past me. No, I’m totally not screaming right now, that’s just the wind. Yea, the wind. How high up is this thing anyway--

I hit the snow face-first, but then I keep rolling like a ragdoll down the slope. All I can see is white and green as I roll down the mountain like a freaking tire, probably getting a new collection of bruises every time I hit something.

Sharp pain hit my forehead, and I was swallowed by darkness.

-

I’m still alive. 

I have no Idea how, but I am. Where am I? Trying to move just results in pain.

Blood is running down from my knee, pooling into the snow beneath me. Cold wind cut through my torn jacket like a knife. On the bright side, my hands are free now. Guess all the rocks loosened the rope somehow. Not that I can really move my arms anyway.

So basically, other than bleeding out, possibly broken bones, and hypothermia, I’m fine! Great! Now I can just… Okay I can’t really move. Fuck.

All I could do was curl up and try to keep warm. I was starting to lose the feeling in my finger-tips, since hand-wraps aren’t really meant for warmth. Probably should’ve listened to Hardhat when he said to wear gloves.

This is it, this it how I die. I’m going to die all alone and the last good look I saw of my team was in the stupid Respawn room. Man, I could still hear Soldier’s voice through the radio ringing in my ears.

Wait, my radio! They didn’t take my earpiece! Holy shit maybe I won’t freeze to death out here after all!

Forcing my arm to move, I dragged my hand through the snow and towards my pockets, pulling out my earpiece. I clicked the little button on the side and dragged it to my mouth.

“Hello? Anyone there?” I said, voice sounding weaker than I’d hoped. “Scout here! Anyone hear me? Hello?”

No answer. I tired a few more times before giving up and dropping the earpiece into the snow next to my face. Dunno why I expected that to work. I’d be a miracle if anyone was in the range of the radio. No, everyone’s way too far away to get anything more than static. Heck, I’d be lucky if they even got static.

Fuck.


	7. Chapter 7

Snow battered the partially frosted windshield, building up on the hood of my van and obscuring my vision a bit. I turned on the wipers a while ago to keep the snow off, but it was only half-successful. Rather than the snow being pushed off, it just built up on the sides, narrowing my field of view even more than the snowdrift already was.

Uncomfortable silence has been the soundtrack for a while now. Soldier was sitting in the passenger seat now, rummaging through my glove department like a raccoon looking for garbage. Spy was sitting behind the seats, probably fiddling with his watch again, probably trying to touch as little of the van as possible.

“Soldier quit goin’ through my stuff!” I barked at Soldier for the fifth time today. I swear he’s going deaf.

“I AM SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS!” He said, continuing to rummage through my glove department.

“Ya ain’t gonna find anything in there!” I growled. I swear if he doesn’t get his grimy hands out of my stuff I’m going to gut him like a fish.

“Soldier, I don’t think going through his glove department is going to be helpful.” Spy chimed in from the back. It’s the first time he’s spoken in a while.

“I HAVE FOUND NO ANSWERS YET!”

He’s pulling out the random assortment of garbage I had stuffed in there. Styrofoam cups and plastic straws fell out as he dug, littering the floor.

“...You’re definitely not going to find anything helpful in there.” Spy said, disgusted.

“Shut yer trap, Spy!”

“I WILL CONTINUE--”

He stopped digging. He looked confused and surprised, hands still half-stuffed into my glove department. Slowly, he pulled his hands out. Spy and I exchanged a confused look.

“Soldier are you alright--”

Soldier cut him off. “I HEAR SCOUT!”

“Wait, you do?” I said, glancing at him in shock before returning my attention to the road. “How? What’s he saying?”

He ignored me, choosing to shout into the earpiece instead. “HELLO, SCOUT? DO YOU COPY?”

Soldier had put his hand up to his ear, trying to listen. He still had his earpiece apparently, although how the hell he was getting any signal all the way out here with the snow is a mystery. I kinda wish I hadn’t tossed mine a while ago.

“AFFIRMATIVE! I CAN HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR! CAN YOU HEAR ME?”

Soldier shut his mouth, waiting for an answer. Spy was trying to listen in on the conversation, leaning over the back of Soldier’s seat.

Minutes oozed by without another sound coming from Scout’s end.

“HE DID NOT COPY!” Soldier said sadly, his hand falling into his lap in disappointment.

“Why not?” Spy asked, still leaning over the chair. “Is your radio broken?”

“MY RADIO IS IN WORKING ORDER!”

Why isn’t his radio working? Scout should be able to hear him if he’s able to reach us. Why the hell--

Oh.

We muted Soldier a while ago so we wouldn’t have to hear his screaming over the radio during the battle.

“Doesn’t matter!” I said, gripping the steering wheel tighter and sighing. “The radios don’t have a good range, ‘specially in this weather, so he’s gotta be close. Very close”

“WE WILL FIND HIM!” Soldier yelled, standing up in his chair and hitting his head on the roof of my van. I’m surprised he didn’t break anything.

“Soldier, are you okay?” Spy asked, probably concerned.

“MY HELMET IS INDESTRUCTIBLE!”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, mate.” I said, focusing on the road. “You two keep an eye out for Scout alright?”

“YES!”

“Alright.”

We sat in silence for about twenty minutes. Spy was searching for any sign of him out of his window, scanning the treeline with care. 

“I SEE SCOUT!” Soldier said, putting his hand on my headrest and standing up to point to a pile of rocks and snow nearby.

I slowed the van down. There was a bolt of blue in between some branches. A baseball cap was laying next to the pile, discarded.

“That’s Scout!” I said, pulling the camper over and getting out. Spy and Soldier followed, trudging through the snow.

Scout was laying in the snow underneath some rocks and trees, shaking like a leaf. Blood was pooling from his knee and stomach, staining the snow around him red. Bruises littered his body, ranging from small ones on his shins to a large one on his face and arm.

“SCOUT!” I yelled, running over and kneeling next to him. “Scout can ya hear me? Soldier go get the Medi-Kit!”

Soldier nodded and bolted back to the camper at record speeds. Scout shifted a bit, clenching his fists and opening his eyes. He’s still alive. He’s still alive!

“...Snipes?” He said weakly. “That you?”

“Yea.” I said, smiling and trying to get a better look at his wounds. “Yea it’s me.”

Spy’s kneeling across from me on the other side of Scout, his brow creased with worry.

“You were attacked.” He said.

“Yea.” Scout muttered. “Ruined my tattoo…”

“Tattoo?”

Soldier was back with the Medi-Kit. I opened the box, pulling out some gauze and disinfectant.

“This is gonna sting, ya ready?”

Scout gave me a sleepy grin and a thumbs-up.

“Ready, Snipes!”

“Alright. Soldier? Hold him down.”

Solder nodded and pinned Scout to the ground by pushing on his chest.

“Ow.” Scout said.

“Gently, Soldier.” Spy said, holding down Scout’s legs.

Soldier stopped pushing down as hard on Scout’s chest. I opened the foul-smelling bottle of disinfectant and immediately got punched in the nose by the acidic smell. Cringing, and grabbed a cotton ball and soaked it in the disinfectant. I lifted his blood-soaked shirt up, revealing a large claw mark going through his “Sex-Bom” tattoo on his stomach. A familiar feeling of dread was creeping up from my stomach and threatening to spill over. I need to finish this quickly.

I dabbed some disinfectant on the wound. Scout’s face contorted into a grimace as he jerked. Soldier kept Scout down easily, although Spy was having a bit of trouble keeping his legs down.

“Hooooly crap.” Scout said, hissing in pain. “That fuckin’ hurts!”

“PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY!”

“Soldier, shut up.” I muttered, reaching for a roll of gauze. 

“Yea can it, Soldier!” Scout said, looking annoyed. “You ain’t the one bleedin’ out here!”

Thankfully, the wound on his stomach didn’t seem as bad as I thought it was. It was pretty shallow, although it was deep enough to where it would probably leave a scar when it healed.

“So ya think I’m gonna get a cool scar?” Scout asked, raising his head a bit to get a better look at his stomach while I bandaged it, securing the gauze with some duct tape.

“Ya might” I said.

“Cool!” He said, smiling. “Ya know, I’ve always wanted to get a cool scar. I mean, not one going through my tattoo, that kinda sucks, but one on my face!”

“Why on your face?” Spy asked. “It’s a pretty… noticeable area.”

“IT IS A BADGE OF HONOR!”

“Well I don’t care about the honor thing but I think it’d look pretty cool.” Scout said, tracing his finger over his face to mark where he’d want a scar. “I’d go like this, and then I’d be pretty intimidating! I mean, Spy looks pretty intimidating with his scar!”

“Really?”

“Yea! Until you open your mouth!”

Spy just shook his head while Scout continued to ramble on and on about how cool it would be to have a scar, with Soldier agreeing. How the hell this kid has this much energy to keep talking like he is...

His knee was still bleeding, badly. Unlike the claw mark on his stomach, his knee won’t be nearly as easy to bandage. His kneecap was shattered, so there’s no way he’ll be able to walk for a while. He’s still bleeding out right in front of us, getting weaker and weaker with each sentence. He’s helpless. He’s dying.

Scout either didn’t realize how bad the situation was or he just didn’t care... He was happily chatting away with Spy and Soldier about baseball, with Soldier enjoying the conversation much more. I grabbed another cotton ball and the bottle of disinfectant.

“So then ya gotta, like, hit the ball using the sweet spot on the bat if ya wanna get a home run, ya know?” Scout was trying to use his arms to show where the sweet spot is, but he’s a little too loopy to explain anything right now.

“YES!”

“...’sweet spot?’”

“Yea! It’s the part of the bat that hits the farthest!”

I was still trying to figure out how to do this. Do I remove the pieces of his kneecap? Do I just disinfect everything and bandage it up? Do I have to cut off his leg? God, I hope not. The closest thing to a saw I have is my kukri, and that thing is meant for slashing through vines and skin, not bone. I wish Medic was here. He’d probably know what to do.

He’s bleeding out still. I have to make a decision now, or it’ll be too late. Maybe it’s already too late. Maybe Scout’s just going to bleed out right here and there isn’t a bloody thing I can do about it. God, Spook’d be furious if he was here. I mean, his son is just laying here bleeding out and there isn’t a damn bloody thing anyone can do--

“Sniper?”

I jumped a bit, turning towards the voice. It turned out to be Spy, who was giving me a concerned look. 

“Do you need help?”

I swallowed hard and shook my head.

“Keep his leg still okay?” I said, preparing to disinfect the wound.

Spy nodded and braced himself. Soldier noticed and put more pressure on Scout’s chest to keep him down.

“Uh, hey I’m still talkin’ here--”

I poured the disinfectant.

Whatever Scout was talking about before was interrupted by his wail of pain. He struggled, trying desperately to get away. Spy tried in vain to keep Scout’s legs still while I quickly bandaged his knee. Soldier and Spy swapped places, since he was having trouble keeping Scout’s legs still.

Within a few minutes, Scout’s knee was cleaned and bandaged, held together by duct tape and tension. It was done. Scout won’t bleed out for a while, although he still might freeze to death if we don’t get him warm soon.

A sob tore my attention away from my thoughts. Scout was still laying in the snow, tears and snot streaming down his face as he sobbed in pain. His teeth and fists were clenched tightly as he braced himself against the pain that was still probably shooting out from his knee like fireworks. Spy was trying to comfort him, squeezing Scout’s shoulder and talking to him, trying to distract him from his knee.

“You did great! You’re going to be okay--” Spy said.

“Well I don’t feel okay!” Scout said, voice shaking. “Next time gimme a warnin’ or somethin’!”

I stood up, glancing around the area, a familiar feeling of paranoia making itself at home at the back of my mind.

“We need to get going.” I said.

“That would probably be a good idea.” Spy said, picking Scout up with an unrivaled gentleness and holding him bridal-style. “Scout? Are you alright?”

“Y-yea.” He said, looking exhausted. “Yea I’m good now.”

We headed back to the camper. Scout was wrapped up in a blanket and put in the back.

“There.” I said, making sure Scout was situated. “Ya need anything?”

“Nah.” Scout said, pulling the blanket over his head and leaning against the cabinet on the inside of the camper. “I’m good.”

He gave me a toothy grin and a shaky thumbs up.

“Sniper?” Spy said, poking his head through the door. “Would you like me to drive?”

“What? Ya don’t have to mate.”

“Would you rather have Soldier drive?”

“What? No! Don’t let Soldier drive!” I said, stepping out of the camper. “Look, Mate, I can drive my own bloody van, alright!”

Spy looked at me, studying my face. His eyes traveled to my side, brow creasing a tad in worry.

“I think you should rest.” He said finally. “You’re still recovering.”

“Mate, it’s not that bad. It’s not even bleeding anymore!”

“You’ve been driving for nearly eight hours.” He crossed his arms and straightened his back a bit, standing his ground for once.

“I’m bloody fine! Ya don’t have to worry about me, mate! I can take care of myself!”

“You look exhausted.” He said, examining me. “I’d rather you not pass out behind the wheel.”

I was about to say something again about how I wasn’t tired, but I didn’t. I didn’t want a repeat of the last time I drove while tired.

“...Fine.” I grumbled. “I’ll keep an eye on Scout.”

“I CAN DRIVE!” Soldier bellowed, poking his head through the window and grinning.

“Soldier, no.” Spy said, walking over to Soldier.

Soldier’s grin fell.  
“You can, however, sit with me in the front if you would like.”

“I WOULD LIKE TO SIT IN THE FRONT!” Soldier said, grin returning to his face like the sun coming out from behind some clouds.

Shaking my head, I went back into my camper. Scout was still sitting on the floor, his injured leg resting on a clump of blankets while his other was folded. He was nestled in the blanket I gave him, looking a bit disgusted.

“Man this blanket smells like-- oh hey Snipes!”

“It’s clean.” I said, closing the camper door behind me.

“Well, I’m sure it is but I think everything in here kinda smells like piss, ya know?”

I sat down on the floor of the camper next to him, adjusting the brim of my hat. Spy was probably right about me needing a break.

“Ya lettin’ Soldier drive?” Scout asked, sounding more exhausted than anything else. Still had enough energy to start a conversation though, which is a good thing, I think.

“What? No! I said, giving him an annoyed look. “Spy’s driving.”

“Cool.”

Silence filled the air. Scout leaned against the cabinet behind us, nestling himself deeper into his blanket. His face was pale as a ghost, and he was still shaking like a leaf, despite being covered in one of my heavier blankets.

“...are you doing okay?” I asked.

“Huh? Yea! Doin’ fine!”

“Ya sure? I can go get ya another blanket—“

“I’m good! Thanks though! Really appreciate it.”

He was still smiling, despite how exhausted he is. He shifted again, hissing in pain when he moved too much.

“Ow.” He mumbled, his smile being wiped off his face.

“...still hurts doesn’t it?” I said.

“Well I did just lose a kneecap! It’s not like those things grow back! ...Wait do they?”

“They don’t.”

Trees and snow brushed past the window, leaving only a blur of green, white, and brown behind. We’re still in the mountains. Still in this hellish nightmare of being hunted down.

“I ain’t gonna be able to run again am I?” Scout said, breaking the silence.

“What?” I asked, a bit jarred.

“I can’t run without both my legs.” He said, sadness etched into his voice. “So I can’t run anymore.”

He wasn’t smiling anymore. He wasn’t making any jokes, or trying to brighten the situation at all. He was just sitting there, half-staring out of the window as realization hit him like a truck barreling through the desert.

“Well if we can find Medic he might be able to do something.” I said, trying to comfort Scout. “You happen to know where he is?”

“Nope.” Scout said. “ I dunno where anyone is. I got kidnapped way before I saw where anyone else went.”

“Ya did?”

“Yea! Some of Clauden’s--”

Clauden? Clauden was the one who captured him? Why didn’t he tell me before?! It explained the claw mark on his stomach.

“--Freakn’ sucked! I didn’t even know he was still alive to be honest. I thought you guys shot him in the face or something’ like that--”

He was still talking, but I wasn’t listening. My heartbeat picked up speed. Rage and dread filled me like a tap. Clauden was still alive. The bastard was still bloody alive.

“--Ya know maybe I should’ve gotten more info while I was there. Would’ve made things a bit less sucky ya know?”

Scout was still talking, waving his hands as he described his adventure, completely oblivious to how bad our situation just got. 

“Kinda weird how he was stockpiling Australium like that. Wonder if he’s still doin’-- uh, Snipes? Ya doin okay?”

Clauden’s alive. Clauden’s alive and he captured Scout for some reason. He’s probably going to come after us. Heck, he might be following us, or trying to pick us off one by one. How the hell did he find us anyway?! The base was in the middle of the mountains! Has he been sending scouts? Did the Admin know?

“Sniper? Snipersnipersniper--”

“Scout, was Clauden really alive?” I said, turning towards him and giving him my full attention.

“Uh, yea!” He said, raising an eyebrow. “Did you guys not know? Probably should’ve mentioned it when you guys found me, huh?”

“Yes!” I said, throwing my hands up. “You should have! Why the bloody hell didn’t you tell us before!?”

“Whoa, chill! I just didn’t think of it!” He said, hands raised in self-defense. “Don’t need to get all bent up about it!”

“I thought you were attacked by the BLU Team!” I said, fists clenched. I swear if this bloke wasn’t already halfway to bleeding out--

Scout scowled, now more angry than scared. “It ain’t my fault ya can’t ask questions! Ya didn’t even ask if I knew where anyone else was! For all you know you could’ve just left Pyro to freeze in the snow back there--”

The rest of the team! Clauden’s probably after the rest of the team! He probably captured Scout as bait for us. Is the rest of the team already captured? They probably are. They’re probably getting tortured for information while he waits for us to find them.

“Did you see any sign of anyone else there?” I said, ignoring whatever Scout’s been saying this entire time. Scout looked up at me, a mixture of worry and fear on his face.

“Uh, no.” He said, not even thinking about it for a second.

“Are you sure?”

“Yea!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I’m sure!”

He might not have them. That, or Scout just didn’t pay enough attention. That’s probably it. He just wasn’t paying attention.

I stood up. My throat was tight. I felt like a coiled spring-- ready to jump at the slightest noise. My heart was pounding. My hands are shaking. 

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to think. I can’t. He has them. They’re probably dead. My entire team is dead.

“SNIPER!”

Scout’s voice jerked me out of my thoughts. I turned around on my heels, half-ready to punch whatever was behind me.

Scout, who wasn’t dead, was still sitting on the floor, looking up at me. His brow was creased with worry. He had one of my empty jars in his hand, probably ready to throw it at me in case his shouting didn’t work.

“Snipes? Ya there?”

I swallowed, then nodded, sitting back down next to him and burying my face in my hands.

“Are you… sure there wasn’t anyone from our team there?” I asked, voice shaking a bit.

“Look, I ran all over that place looking for a way out. Ain’t nobody there but Clauden and his goons. You can trust me on that!”

He was smiling again. He put the jar down and rolled it under my bed. We sat in silence for a minute while I tried to steady my breathing. Panic was still worming its way through me, but it wasn’t as intense as it was before.

“Ya wanna tell Spy?”

My stomach lurched at the mention of Spy. I know he isn’t talking about Spook, but it’s still a bit unnerving.

He has a good question though. Do I want to tell Spy? He’ll probably freak out too. Or, what’s worse, after realizing that Clauden is still alive, he might just turn this whole van around to go after him and finish the job. That’s what he’ll do. He’ll just turn everything around rather than look for the rest of the team, and then they’ll probably die somewhere.

No. No he wouldn’t do that. He’s not that reckless. He wouldn’t abandon his teammates just so he could kill Clauden, would he?

“No.” I said flatly.

Scout raised an eyebrow. “Ya sure? I think he’d probably want to know--”

“He’ll freak out mate.” 

“Well, he’s usually pretty good at not freakin’ out.”

He’s right. Not about the freaking out part, Spy hasn’t quite mastered “stoic calmness” just yet, but he is right about having to tell him. Spy knows Clauden better than any of us. He knows what he might do in a situation like this. He needs to know.

“...alright.” I said, sighing in defeat.

“Cool! We’ll tell ‘em when he stops the van, right?”

I nodded. Depending on Spy’s stamina, it might be a while.

“Yea. Yea we will…” I said.

The van rocked like a cradle as the tires ran over the uneven snowbanks of the mountains. Wind howled outside, snow battered the windows, and trees flashed by the windows. It’d be a bit nicer if we weren’t being hunted by the REDs and Clauden right now.


	8. Chapter 8

Scout was captured by Clauden.

Well, not by Clauden himself, just his goons.

Why? They don’t hold any particular grudge against him. At least, not one that I’m aware of. I suppose they could have used him as bait, although we weren’t even aware he was captured so it would have been pointless.

Scout’s safe now, thankfully. I’ll have to question him later on if he saw anything important. Hopefully he’ll have some answers.

*Click*

Tensing up from the noise that sounded a bit too much like a revolver, I glanced at my side, towards the passenger seat. Thankfully, it turned out to be Soldier, who was messing with the seatbelt device.

“Is something wrong, Soldier?” I said.

“IT IS MAKING A NOISE!” He said, buckling himself back in just to hear the click again.

*click*

“Yes, it tends to do that when you click the button.”

I saw a light up ahead, gleaming like a miniature sun on the horizon. The road became clearer, and signs of civilization became more abundant. Trees gave way to stone buildings and street lamps. The whole place had a warm, familiar feeling. Reminds me of those cold Smissmas mornings I used to have with my family when I was younger.

Actually, this looks like the same town me and Soldier often visit when we go out for dinner. Problem is, that means we’re not as far from the base as I thought. In fact, if we follow the road up the mountain, we’d be there in about twenty minutes. I’ll have to find a map later.

“WE ARE IN THE TOWN!” Soldier said, smiling and pressing his face up against the glass, tilting his helmet up.

“Yes.” I said, easing up on the accelerator. “We are.”

My stomach growled. Food would be nice, and I’m sure Scout and Sniper are probably starving as well. Perhaps we can find a map here, and plot out our next move rather than driving around aimlessly and praying we don’t run into any trouble.

“Are you hungry, Soldier?”

“YES!”

“Alright.” I said, glancing out of the window. “Not much here… are you in the mood for something particular?”

“MEAT!”

That wasn’t very specific. I suppose we could stop at a diner somewhere. They have meat, I believe.

“Alright.” I said, looking around. “I’ll find somewhere with meat.”

Soldier grinned, happy with my answer. He’s pretty easy to please, which is a good thing.

“Is there a specific type of meat you would like?” I asked, glancing occasionally at the side of the road. “Actually we should probably see what Scout and Sniper want.”

Soldier unbuckled himself. “I CAN GO ASK!”

“Soldier, you can wait until I stop the--”

He’s already halfway out of the window. I sighed and pulled him back in by the back of his collar, dragging him back into his seat.

“Soldier, just wait.” I said.

“I CAN GO TELL THEM!” He insisted.

“I’d rather not have two injured members of the team without Medic nearby.”

He nodded in what I hope is understanding and sat down, although he didn’t put his seatbelt back on. Not out of protest, I think he just forgot that seatbelts are a thing.

I pulled over to the side of the road and climbed out. Soldier beat me to the back door, pulling it open.

“WHAT TYPE OF MEAT DO YOU WANT?” He yelled, excited.

“Bloody hell Soldier if ya don’t shut yer trap I’m gonna gut you like a fish!” Sniper said, sounding irritated. “Why the hell did we stop anyway?!”

I craned my neck over Soldier’s shoulder.

“Food.” I said.

“Food?!” Sniper said, standing up and marching to the door. “We’re being hunted down by manics and ya think now would be a good time to eat?!”

“I mean, I could go for a burger right about now--” Scout said.

“Shut up Scout!” Sniper said.

Scout crossed his arms and pouted. “Okay, sheesh! We’ll just starve to death then!”

“WE ARE HUNGRY!” Soldier said.

Sniper still didn’t seem convinced. He crossed his arms, glaring at Soldier and I. We stood our ground.

“Sniper.” I said. “I’d rather take our chances now rather than later.”

“I’d rather not take our chances at all.” Sniper said, glaring at me. “We keep driving.”

I shook my head.

“Scout needs something to return his strength.” I said, looking over Sniper’s shoulder to Scout in the back. “Besides, I have to find a map anyway.”

Scout gave me a thumbs-up and a toothy grin from behind Sniper. Sniper opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, looking back at Scout and sighing.

“Fine.” Sniper said. “But we need to be fast--”

Scout and Soldier cheered in triumph. 

I nodded. “We’ll be fast.”

Sniper went back into the camper to help Scout up. Thankfully, we won’t have to go far; I just so happen to have pulled over near a restaurant. Specifically, a burger joint.

“Is everyone okay with burgers?” I said.

“AFFIRMATIVE!” Soldier said, making a few birds on a nearby telephone wire fly away.

Sniper came out of the van with Scout’s arm sling over his shoulder.

“Burgers sound good.” Sniper said.

“Yea!” Scout said, grinning. He winced when he shifted too much of his weight on his knee. “Ow. Can we sit down though?”

“Sure.”

We started to walk towards the nearby burger place. Soldier led the way, marching towards the scent of burgers and fries. Sniper followed behind half-carrying, half-dragging Scout. I followed behind them, keeping an eye and ear out for any sign of the RED team or Clauden’s men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. The next one's gonna be really long to make up for it though, so stay tuned!


	9. Chapter 9

The diner we walked into smelled like grease, fries, and vomit. The few people inside other than the waitresses all looked either plastered or tired, eating their diner food slowly.

A tired-looking waitress led us to a corner table near a window, not giving us a second glance. Figured she’d at least ask about Scout’s knee, but she didn’t. Instead, she silently waited for us to sit down and gave us our silverware.

Scout sat down next to me, wincing and hissing in pain when he accidentally hit his knee on the gum-ridden underside of the table. 

“Oooww…” he said.

Soldier and Spy sat down across from us, with Spy grabbing a napkin and cleaning up the grease that was on the table.

“Are you alright, Scout?” Spy asked, crumpling up the napkin and tucking it into his suit pocket.

“Yea!” Scout said, grin returning. “Fine! Just bumped it ‘s all.”

“We might have to check on it after we eat.”

Scout looked down at his knee, which had bled through the bandages. “Yea that’s probably a good idea.”

Spy gave Scout one last worried look before handing him a menu and grabbing one for himself. Wish the waitress gave us more than two.

“DO THEY HAVE MEAT?” He asked, leaning over to look at the menu.

The waitress came by to get our drink orders, standing at the side of the table and tapping her pen on her order booklet.

“Yes, they have meat.” Spy said. “Coffee for me please.”

“Can I get a Bonk?” Scout asked, looking at the back of the menu. “That’s Bonk right?”

“Yea.” I said. “It’s cherry Bonk.”

“Cool!”

The waitress nodded and scribbled something down on her notepad.

“Coffee for me.” I said. “No cream.”

“All right.” She said. She turned to Soldier. “And you sir?”

“COFFEE!” Soldier yelled.

The waitress nodded, unfazed, and walked away, her heels clicking on the tiles.

“...So! How’s everyone's day going?” Scout said, apparently annoyed by the two-second pause in the conversation.

“Scout.” I said, rubbing my face with my hands. “Just figure out your bloody order.”

“Sniper, be nice.” Spy said, looking over the menu. “All things considered, it’s actually going pretty well.”

“MY DAY IS GOOD!” Soldier said, smiling.

“See Snipes! Ya don’t have to be all grumpy!” Scout said, grinning. “Grump.”

“Have you figured out your order yet?!” I said, irritated.

“Well, duh!”

“Is there anything on here not swimming in grease?” Spy muttered, disappointed.

“ ‘Fraid not mate.” I said, taking a gander myself. “Even the bloody salad has ham in it.”

“Hey, the grease is what makes it good!” Scout said, leaning back in the booth and putting his hands behind his head.

“Food shouldn’t have to be greasy to be good.” Spy said, handing the menu to Soldier so he could decide what he wanted.

The waitress came back with our drinks, setting them in the middle of the table with little care. At least they didn’t spill.

“Are you ready to order?” She said. “What do you guys want?”

“STEAK!”

“Burger and fries!”

“Just a burger, please.”

“Nothing.”

She wrote everything down, then went to the kitchen.

“You don’t want anything?” Spy asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is it the grease?”

“No.” I said, taking a sip of my coffee. “I just ain’t feeling too hungry.”

“Ya sure? I’ll share summa my fries with ya!” Scout said, chugging his drink.

“I WILL SHARE MY BURGER!”

“Ya don’t have to.” I said. “Thanks though. I appreciate it.”

Soldier nods in what I hope is understanding, then turns his attention to the silverware, trying to bend them with his fingers. He was succeeding.

“Soldier, please stop bending the silverware—“

“I WILL BEND IT!”

He bent the fork into a circle out of sheer boredom. Spy just sighed, taking a sip of his coffee.

Nature suddenly called, wanting a long meeting in the restroom. Damn bloody kidneys, acting up at the worst times. Couldn’t have been this morning, just has to be now.

“I’m gonna go take a piss.” I said, scooting out of the booth.

“Alright! I’ll keep your food safe!” Scout said.

“Thanks mate.”

I opened the door to the bathroom and headed inside. Stopping at a urinal and unzipping my pants, I relieved myself.

“Oh mein gott.” A voice nearby said. “You are BLU Sniper!”

Whoever that is has a really thick German accent. Kinda sounds like Docs, but seemed a bit higher-pitched? Either way, It’s familiar. 

Bugger, that’s the RED Medic ain’t it?! Sure as hell ain’t Doc, he’d never say something like that. Of course I’d run into a member from the bloody RED team in a shitty diner at three in the bloody morning! Why did I leave my stuff in the van?

I pulled out the knife Spook gave me. The RED medic was pressed up against the wall across the tiny bathroom, his hands held up in surrender. He’s unarmed.

“Wait!” He said, sounding desperate. “Wait, don’t attack!”

Should I attack him? I don’t think I should. He looks absolutely terrified, so he probably doesn’t even have any weapons. Heck, he doesn’t even have his medi-gun. Wonder what happened to it.

“I won’t.” I said, gritting my teeth. Surprised the bugger hasn’t attacked me yet to be honest.

“You won’t?” He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

He’s staring at me, looking pretty confused and keeping the distance between us. I know he doesn’t really believe me, but I was blocking the door, so it’s not like he could run anyway.

Actually, we could probably use his help. I’m sure Scout’s knee needs to be looked by a medical professional. Should I trust him? He might kill Scout if given the opportunity. No, he’ll definitely kill Scout. Maybe not? He is unarmed.

“Actually, “ I said, walking towards him and slowly putting my knife away. “Ya might be able to help me.”

“Why should I?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. He probably would’ve taken a step back if he wasn’t already pressed up against the wall.

“I know both respawns were down.”

The RED Medic’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened a bit in shock.

“You do? Who told? How do you know?”

“Your Sniper told me.”

Like a light switch, his face went from fear to joy, and a smile formed on his face.

“He did? Is he with you?” He asked, taking a step towards me, excited. “Is he okay?”

Shaking my head, I took a step back. He’s getting a bit too close for comfort.

“He’s not with me.” I said. “He’s dead.”

“What?” He said, expression falling. “He’s dead? How? What happened?”

“Somebody shot at his tires and he crashed into a tree.”

“He’s dead.” He repeated, sounding completely defeated. “Who shot at him? Was it you?!”

“I don’t know. Could've been from my team, could’ve been someone else.”

He looked deflated.

“Are you—“ he swallowed. “—are you sure he’s dead?! There may have been a mistake—“

“He was skewered, mate.”

“Skewered?!”

“Yea.” I said. “I guess when his tire popped he crashed, and a piece of the dash impaled him.”

“...ja, I see.”

He stood silently for a minute, processing everything. I kinda felt bad for him. From what I saw on the field, he and the RED Sniper were pretty close.

“...you said you needed help?”

“Yea.”

“I will help you.” He said, sighing.

I nodded, then led him to our table. The food was already there.

“Hey you’re back—“ Scout said, his cheerful grin fading when he saw the Medic. “—Okay what the fuck?! Why’s the RED Doc here?!”

“HE IS THE ENEMY!” Soldier said, pulling out his shovel. He was about to leap from the booth, but Spy grabbed his shoulder.

“Hold on Soldier.” Spy said, voice calm. “I’m sure Sniper has an explanation.”

They’re all staring at me and the Medic. Can’t blame them for being suspicious, since he’s a RED and all.

“Hello.” The RED Medic said nervously. “I am here to help.”

“...‘Ello.” Spy said, looking the Medic over carefully.

Scout raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look of confusion with Soldier.

“Wait, help?” Scout said, shoving a bunch of fried into his mouth. “Wiff wat?”

“Your knee.” I said.

“WHY ARE WE TRUSTING HIM?” Soldier yelled, still being held back by Spy.

“He’s unarmed.” I said. “He’s pretty much harmless.”

“Not when we give ‘em access to my knee!” Scout said. “What if he poisons next or something?!”

“Why would I poison you??” The RED Medic said.

“ ‘Cause I’m a BLU, and you’re a RED!”

“...Weren’t we fired?”

“I mean… we were but I dunno about you.”

“Look,” I said, stepping closer to the table. “Whoever is hunting ya down is probably hunting the REDs down as well. Working together might help us live.”

“YOU ARE CORRECT!”

“Yea that kinda makes sense.” Scout said, taking a bite out of his burger.

Spy looked a little apprehensive, looking over the Medic with a critical eye. He scooted over, offering the Medic a seat.

“You may sit here if you would like.” Spy said.

“Danke.” The Medic said, sitting down.

Everybody continued eating, with Soldier ignoring his utensils and Spy carefully cutting his burger with a fork and knife.

“Mate,” I said. “You know that’s a burger, right? Ya eat it like a sandwich.”

“I’m aware.” Spy said. “I don’t want to get my gloves greasy.”

“Then take ‘em off!” Scout said.

“I’d rather not leave fingerprints behind.”

“Oh.”

Silence filled the table, interrupted by the scraping of Spy’s fork and knife.

“So what happened to the rest of your team?” Scout said, finishing off his Bonk with a slurp. “You guys have to split up too?”

“Ja.” The Medic said. “Our Spy and Scout were found dead on the battlefield, and the rest of us just scattered once we realized they weren’t going to respawn.”

“Yea sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Both the Scout and Spy were… annoying.”

“You’re tellin’ me!”

“Ya want anything to eat?” I asked. “I can pay.”

“Nein.” The Medic said. “I ate.”

I nodded, taking another sip of my coffee. Scout finished his plate first, as usual. He leaned back in the booth, bored already.

“I think I’m forgetting’ something.” He said, rapping his fingers on the table.

“Is it important?” Spy asked, stabbing a chunk of his burger with his fork.

“Yea! Pretty sure it is.”

Scout put his hand up to his chin, scrunching up his eyebrows. Honestly, if you have him a mask, he’d be a spitting image of Spook.

“Oh!” He said, snapping his fingers. “Clauden’s alive by the way!”

Spy froze, fork in hand. The color drained from his face as he looked up at Scout with growing horror.

“What.” Spy said, putting his fork down.

“He’s alive!” Scout said. “Clawed my stomach! I meant to tell ya a while ago but I wasn’t thinkin’ straight.”

Spy just stared at Scout, then turned to me for confirmation. I nodded.

“He ain’t lying, mate.” I said. “If he was you’d be able to tell.”

“How—? You killed him!” Spy said, panic lacing his voice.

“Guess I didn’t.”

“YOU SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD!” Soldier yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

The medic looked between everyone at the table.

“Who is Clauden?” He asked.

“Some asshole who’s been stealn’ stuff from the bases for a while.” Scout said, eating a fry. “Caused a lotta problems.”

“That’s who it was?! I assumed it was your medic!”

“Well yea he probably stole stuff too, but it wasn’t just him.”

“Oh.”

Spy wasn’t really paying attention. He was just staring out of the window, brow creased in worry at the figure approaching us from the mountains.


	10. Chapter 10

The figure approached, stepping into the road light of the parking lot. Like a spotlight, the light revealed the figure to be a woman with frizzy hair and a short purple dress. It’s Miss Pauling.

Why is she here? Did the Administrator fire her too? I doubt it, she’s a bit too loyal for that. She’s here for something, or to kill us. Although we do outnumber her.

“Hey is that Miss P?” Scout said, leaning over the table to get a better look out of the window.

“Yea it is.” Sniper said. “The bloody hell is she doing all the way out here.”

“SHE HAS COME TO HELP US!”

I doubt it. In fact, I suspect she’s after something.

“Not quite Soldier.” I said, taking a sip of my coffee.

“You don’t think she’s here to help?” The Red Medic said, creasing his eyebrows. “She’s usually helpful.”

I shook my head.

She walked into the diner, heels clicking on the cheap tiles beneath our feet. She’s chatting with one of the waitresses, who led her to our table.

“Thanks! I don’t plan on ordering anything, so... yea.” Pauling said, walking over to us.

“Alright. Have fun.” The waitress said.

The waitress left, leaving us alone with her. I stuffed a fry into my mouth, keeping an eye on her. This isn’t going to end well.

“Hey MIss Pauling!” Scout said, grinning from ear to ear. “Ya wanna sit next to me?”

“No thanks Scout. I’m good.”

“You don’t look good, herr Pauling.” The RED Medic said, scooting his chair over so she could get closer to the table.

She pushed her glasses further up her nose. “Yea, it’s been a long night.”

“It has been.” I said, putting my napkin on top of my plate, finished. That’s enough grease for me today.

Pauling looked between us and the RED Medic, raising an eyebrow.

“You guys are working together now?” She asked, looking a bit concerned.

“Yea.” Sniper said. “Guess we are.”

She grabbed a chair, dragged it over, and sat down at the edge of our table, next to the Medic. With the way she positioned herself, were effectively trapped.

“You don’t happen to know what’s going on, right?” I asked.

“The Administrator made a deal with the remains of Clauden’s goons” She sighed. “And then she fired all of you as part of that deal.”

“Clauden’s alive.” I said, taking a sip of my drink.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh! Oh…” She sighed. “You… yea that explains some things.”

Fanculo, she’s working with Clauden! Did she not know? I can’t read her expression well enough to tell. I’m going to guess that she did. How else would she have managed to find us?

“Does it?” I said.

“Yea.” She said, staring at me.

“YOU ARE A TRAITOR!” Soldier yelled, standing up. “AND YOU WILL PAY DEAR—“

I pulled him back down into the seat.

“She’s armed, Soldier.” I whispered to Soldier. “Wait.”

Soldier nodded reluctantly, settling down

“Hold on, hold on!” Miss Pauling said, trying to calm us down. “I can explain!”

“You better have a bloody good explanation.” Sniper growled, narrowing his eyes.

Scout sat in silence, staring between us and Miss Pauling with shock.

“Ya can’t be serious.” He said. “Miss P?”

She sighed.

“Okay, I have a good explanation, just hear me out alright guys?”

She better have a very convincing explanation as to why she was working with Clauden. She a smart woman, It’s not like she didn’t know the dangers.

We all listened intently. She stood there, staring at us. Scout still looked like he didn’t believe her, Sniper and Soldier were glaring, the RED Medic just looked very, very confused.

I’m disappointed. I know I should be angry or surprised, but I’m not. I’m just… disappointed.

Tension filled the air as we waited, everybody coiled like a spring. I had a hand on my revolver, and I’m sure everybody else had their weapons ready as well. I know Sniper and Soldier do at least.

“Miss Pauling?” Scout said, sounding deflated.

“Sorry Scout.” She said.

She reached into a hidden pocket on her dress, pulling out a pistol. Before anyone could react, she’s got the medic in the head, sending a splatter of blood and brain matter across the table.

“Holy shit!” Scout said, grabbing a nearby steak knife to defend himself with. Sniper pulled out his butterfly knife and I pulled out my revolver, aiming for Pauling. I fired.

The bullet grazed her shoulder. She took a step back to give some distance between her and us. Soldier quickly closed it.

“I WILL DESTROY YOU, TRAITOR!”

He didn’t get the chance to. While he managed to get too close for her to shoot(thankfully), she did manage to kick Soldier in the stomach and use his momentum to send him flying over her. She fired at us again, hitting the window behind us and shattering it.

“I can’t get close!” Sniper yelled over the screaming of the other customers. “Spy! I’ll guard Scout!”

“Hey! I don’t need to be guarded!” Scout said, trying to get up. His face turned pale once his knee hit the underside of the table. “Ow.”

Sniper stood in front of him, brandishing his knife and kukri. “Yes you do.”

“Thanks Snipes.” Scout said.

“Yes, thank you!” I said. I took aim, but stopped. Soldier was still behind her, I don’t want to risk shooting him.

Pauling stood her ground against us, re-loading her gun. Soldier was behind her with his shovel, preparing to attack.

I aimed my revolver at her to keep her focus. She aimed her pistol at me, and started to squeeze the trigger. Before she could finish, Soldier swung his shovel at her head, resulting in a sicking crack as his shovel broke bone.

She dropped her pistol, then fell to her knees, then to the floor, blood pouring from the back of her head.

Silence fell upon the diner. Most of the customers had already left(I don’t think any of them were hurt), and the waitresses seemed fine as well, if a bit miffed.

“...So she’s dead?” Scout asked, still sitting in the blood-stained booth. He sounded so broken-hearted...

“Yea.” Sniper said, walking over to her body and kneeling “Dunno why she was sent here though. Seems pretty bloody pointless.”

“Information, probably.” I said. “I suppose Scout wasn’t lying about Clauden being alive.”

Scout muttered something.

“IS SHE DEAD?” Soldier asked, nudging her.

“Yes.” I said, checking her pulse. “That was a very good swing.”

“THANK YOU!”

“Yea it was.” Sniper said. “Wait, hold on.”

“Is she not dead?”

“No, it’s not that.”

He looked under a table, then grabbed an earpiece. It was damaged, but recognizable. It didn’t look like the ones Engineer made for us however.

Sniper handed me the earpiece. “She was bugged. Guess she was after info.”

“I suppose she was…” I said, putting the earpiece into my pocket.

I looked around the restaurant. The customers had long since fled in terror, and the waitress from earlier just looked irritated. The tables and chairs had bullet holes in them, and blood was splattered on the booth and table. Plus there’s a dead body on the premises now. It was a mess.

“We should probably be taking our leave.” I said. “I’d rather not have the local authorities be after us as well.”

Sniper nodded, walking over to Scout to help him to his feet and support him.

“Thanks.” Scout muttered, still staring at Pauling’s lifeless body.

“...let’s get ya outta here.” Sniper said, half-supporting, half-dragging Scout towards the door.

I followed, taking care not to step in any blood. Normally I’d hide Miss Pauling’s and the Medic’s body, but I don’t think I have the time to now.

-

The camper’s engine started with a rumble, and we started to move. I rested my head against the wall behind me, trying to think.

Clauden is alive.

He’s alive.

But how? He was shot in the head, and from my experience that normally does the job. Does he have a good medical team? He has been stealing Engineer’s and possibly Medic’s technology, so he could very well have one. It wouldn’t surprise me, but it still doesn’t explain why he would destroy the respawn machines.

Did he want revenge? If so, why destroy both team’s respawns? Why not just ours? Why not just get me while I’m out on a mission? It doesn’t make any sense…

Scout was sitting next to me on the floor of the camper, his injured knee poking out from underneath the blanket. The bandage on it needs to be changed.

“Scout, I’m probably going to need to change the bandage, if that’s alright with you.” I said, grabbing a nearby medical kit.

“Yea, sure.” He said, pulling up his blanket to reveal his injured leg.

I started to unwrap the blanket. “It might hurt a bit…”

The flesh underneath the gauze still looked very tender, but at least it didn’t seem infected. The hole were the bullet had gone through was surprisingly clean, so there shouldn’t be anything lodged in there. Aside from his shattered kneecap, of course.

As carefully as I could, I wrapped fresh gauze around the wound, securing it with some tape. It didn’t look pretty, but it was done.

“There we go.” I said, putting the medical kit away.

“Thanks.” He said, tucking his leg back underneath the blanket.

Silence followed. The normally talkative Scout was now noticeably silent, opting to star off into space rather than talk me half to death. It’s concerning.

“...You were good friends with Miss Pauling?”

“Huh? Oh! Yea, I was.” Scout said, not even bothering to look at me.

I get the impression that there’s quite a bit more, but I don’t want to press the issue too much. Perhaps I’ll ask later, but not now.

We both sat in silence, listening to the van’s engine rumble and the wind howl outside. It was unpleasantly cold, even with my wintered suit. Scout seemed cold from underneath his blanket as well; I can see him hugging himself and rubbing his arms to keep warm.

“You knew she was gonna do that, didn’t ya?” Scout said, breaking the silence.

“No. Well, I knew she didn’t just come to the diner for small talk, but I didn’t know she was going to attack us.”

Scout made a noise that sounded like an agreement before resting his head on the wall and closing his eyes.

I feel the need to do something. He’s just lost somebody dear to him.

I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed firmly. He opened his eyes and looked at me, slightly surprised.

“...thanks man.” He said, smiling.

I smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Silence followed, although it wasn’t as suffocating as earlier.

“So what are we gonna do about Clauden?”

“I don’t know.” I said. “I don’t even know how he’s alive.”

“I dunno either.” Scout said, putting his hand on his chins. “Maybe he was overhealed or something?”

“Maybe.” I said.

Scout thought for a moment.

“...ya know, I heard a weird noise coming from underneath his office. Kinda sounded like an old AC unit was dying down there.” Scout said. “It was weird.”

That’s strange. Clauden Isn’t really a fan of background noise. He usually keeps his office quiet so he can hear everything.

“A noise?” I asked. “What sort?”

“Kinda like… okay you know the respawn machine? That noise it made whenever it was on?”

I nodded.

“It sounded like that. Like, a lot like that.”

He heard something that sounded like the respawn machine under Clauden’s office?

“It may have been a generator for power.” I said.

“Yea, it probably was.” He put his hand behind his head. “I’d be kinda funny if it turns out he made his own respawn machine huh?”

He shifted a bit, then kept talking.

Clauden could have a respawn. It would explain how he came back, and it would explain why he wanted to destroy ours. He didn’t want us to come back. 

He’s been stealing tech so he could build his own respawn and healing pack.

“—Spy you doin’ okay?”

He can respawn.

“He can… respawn.” I said.

He can’t die.

“Uhh… ya sure? Just because he managed to come back from a head shot— holy shot you’re right.”

“Dear God he can respawn!”

Why the hell didn’t I make sure he was dead all those years ago?! Why didn’t the explosives work properly?! Why am I such a horrible Spy?

“Yea this is bad.”

“This… this is very bad!”

We can’t kill him. He’ll always just come back. I’ll never have peace. He’ll hunt me down and tear me apart.

We’re doomed.


	11. Chapter 11

So the bastard is still alive, because of course he is. Of course he’d somehow survive a headshot. How the bloody hell did he survive anyway? Was his skull so thick?

“CLAUDEN IS ALIVE!” Soldier said, breaking the silence like an opera singer would break a glass cup.

“Yea, he is.” I said, gripping the steering wheel. “How?! I thought I killed him? How’s the bastard still bloody alive?!”

“I DO NOT KNOW!”

“I didn’t expect ya to, mate.”

Soldier frowned. Didn’t mean for it to come out that harshly.

Bloody hell, why is death always so fickle? Of course it’s the bastard I want dead that came back, and the bloke I’d actually like to see again is the one that stays dead.

…

We need to find the rest of the team. 

Problem is, I have no bloody idea where they would be. They could be anywhere in these mountains. Hell, they could all be dead for all I know. I know a lot of the REDs are dead.

They’re probably dead. Either the REDs, Clauden, or Pauling got to them. Or in the case of Doc, defected to work with Clauden. Bastard.

Although the RED team is pretty scattered right now. Don’t know if they managed to stitch themselves back together.

Great, now my stomach feels off again. Maybe I should have eaten something other than coffee.

Soldier’s still staring out the window in blind hope, his face and hands pressed against the glass and his treasured helmet getting pushed up.

“...Soldier?” I asked.

“YES?” He said, snapping to attention.

“Do you think the rest of the team is even alive?”

“AFFIRMATIVE!”

He didn’t even think about it. I’d say he’s lying, but I don’t think he had enough brain cells to lie to my face. Then again, Soldier’s known for pulling random information out of his ass, so maybe he knows something I don’t.

Or he’s just overconfident. It’s probably that. He does have a lot of faith in us, for better and for worse.

Should we even bother looking? With Clauden around we won’t be able to search as thoroughly as we might need too.

“You don’t happen to know—- MMPH!” 

“SHHH!” Soldier said, covering my face with his giant hand. “SCOUT IS TALKING!”

I can’t bloody see the road! Thankfully he moved his hand after a few seconds.

“Soldier don’t DO THAT AGAIN!” I yelled. “WHAT THE F—“

“CLAUDEN HAS A RESPAWN!”

“What.” I said, although it wasn’t a question.

“CLAUDEN HAS A RESPAWN.” Soldier repeated, frowning.

“I heard ya the first time mate.” I said, rubbing my face with my hand. “Bloody Hell.”

He has a respawn. A goddam respawn. How the hell did Scout find out? Did he see it?

Come to think of it, that weird noise in Clauden’s office from way back probably was a respawn machine. No wonder it sounded so familiar.

I guess Clauden really did die the first time. He just respawned. Wonder if Spook knew about it… He probably did. Wish he would’ve told us sooner. Asshole.

“So we can’t kill him.”

“YES!” Soldier said, sounding disappointed.

My stomach’s doing backflips. This is bad, really bad. He probably has all of his goons hooked up to the respawn too. No wonder the mongrels were so calm while we killed them.

We need to find the others. Fast.

“Soldier, we gotta find the others. Now.”

“YES! WE DO!”

“Do you have any idea where any of them would be?”

“PYRO IS HERE!”

Pyro? He’s… they’re here? How does he know?

“Are you pulling my leg?”

“NO!”

He had his face pressed up against the window. The trees nearby were scorched, and flakes of ash were still falling from the sky as more trees burned in the distance. The snow had melted and re-froze, leaving behind slush and ice on the road.

“He’s been here, at least.”

The smell of smoke was starting to get into the camper.

“Keep and eye for him okay Soldier?”

Soldier nodded, keeping his face pressed up against the glass.

I kept driving, avoiding the scorched branches and roots in the road. Slush isn’t making it easy to navigate though.

Pyro’s definitely been here, unless there was a freak forest fire. Wonder if he’s alone out here.

-

This is going to be more difficult than I thought.

Turns out, the fire covered a much bigger part of the forest than I thought it did. Acres turned to miles of ash and dust and slush.

Hell, it was still burning strong in some areas, covering the sky with thick, black smoke. Ash and snow were falling, piling up on the sides of the road and the hood of my van. I turned my wipers on.

Still, at least the firebug’s okay. The guy hasn’t been doing too well since we came to Coldfront, and the fact we’re now all scattered Isn’t helping.

“THERE IS SOMETHING UP AHEAD!” Soldier yelled, pointing at a lump that was coming g up on the side of the road.

“What is that? A bear?” I said.

It wasn’t moving, and looked too big to be a bear. Whatever it is, it’s green with a spot of yellow on the back.

Hold on, that’s a truck. It’s Engie’s truck!

Engie’s iconic green truck is parked on the side of the road, half-covered in ash and snow. It was dented, and had a broken taillight. Other than that, it seemed fine! Didn’t even have any bullet holes.

Engie himself was rummaging through his trunk, still wearing his helmet and goggles. Looks like he’s going through the horde of tools he has. And he says my jarate and rifle collection is too much.

I pulled up behind him, turning off my camper’s engine and pulling the keys out, making sure to make plenty of noise so I didn’t scare him.

“Engie!” I yelled, stepping out of the van.

“Sniper? That you over there?” He said, moving the goggles to the top of his head. “Well I’ll be, it is!”

I ran towards him.

“Good to see ya.” He said, grinning.

“HELLO ENGIE!” Soldier yelled, running up and stopping next to me.

“Hey there Soldier.” Engie said. “Ya’ll have anyone else with you?”

“Spy and Scout are in the back of the camper.” I said.

“SCOUT IS INJURED!” Soldier yelled.

“He is?” Engie said, raising an eyebrow. “How so?”

“He was shot in the knee by Clauden.”

Engie frowned.

“His knee? By Clauden? How’s he takin’ it?”

“Better than I thought he would.”

“Alright. And you say it was Clauden? Ain’t he dead?”

“Well,” I said. “You see—“

“HE CAN RESPAWN!” Soldier yelled.

Engine’s eyebrows shot up.

“Respawn?”

I nodded.

“Dammit.” Engie muttered. “I’ll bet he was the one who broke the respawns too.”

I nodded again. “Do you know where anyone else is?”

“Well…” Engie said, looking around. “Pyro’s around here somewhere, but I don’t know where Heavy, Medic, or Demo is.”

I can hear footsteps behind me. Engie looked over my shoulder.

“The Medic and Heavy are probably together, no?” Spy said, walking towards us and supporting Scout. “They always seemed to work together closely, I’d imagine they’d stay together.”

“Yea they do that.” Scout said. “Hey Hardhat!”

“Hey Scout, Spy.”

They walked up to us, with Scout’s arm slung over Spy for support. His injured leg shook whenever weight was put on it, but it was getting better.

Slowly.

“So that’s what I was smelling.” Spy said, looking at the fires nearby. “Pyro?”

Engie nodded. “Yea it’s Pyro. He’s gone a bit stir-crazy what with the snow and all.”

“I see.” Spy said, staring at the smoke in the distance.

“Want me to go get ‘em?” Scout said.

“Son, you ain’t going nowhere with that knee of yours.” Engie said. “Besides, he’ll be back eventually.”

“So we’re just gonna wait for him?” Scout said, irritated.

“Yea” Engie said. “Unless you want to get lit on fire.”

“But I’ve been waiting aalll day!”

“Quit whining!” I said.

Scout huffed and crossed his arms, still leaning against Spy for support. Spy shifted uncomfortably.

“...I suppose Sniper told you about the respawn situation?”

“AFFIRMATIVE!” Soldier yelled.

“Yea, I heard.” Engie said, sitting down in the snow. “That’s a problem.”

Spy nodded, sitting down in the snow along with Scout and I.

Silence and ash filled the air as well all thought of what to say next. The wind blew, and the fires in the distance started to die out as the cold took over once more.

“So what are we gonna do?” Scout asked, breaking the silence.

“I dunno.” Engie said, sighing. “I’d like to find the others, but I don’t even know where to look. I guess we could find Miss Pauling and see if she can help—“

“She’s dead.” Scout said flatly, frowning.

“Oh.”

More silence.

“Well then, I suppose we’ll just have to deal with—“ he gestured to us. “—this on our own.”

“We’ll have to kill Clauden.” I said. “He’s hunting us down.”

“We will.” Engie said. “Problem is, he probably has all sort of tech he’s stolen from us.”

“Yea!” Scout said. “He can probably cloak ‘n stuff like that.”

Spy shuddered involuntarily, and probably not from the cold.

“HE CAN RESPAWN!” Soldier said, probably feeling left out.

“We already said that ya—“

“He can also heal.” I said, interrupting Scout before he could say something stupid. “We’ll have to deal with that.”

Engie tapped his chin, then grinned.

“That reminds me.” He said, rummaging through his pocket. “You said it was a… a metal machine on his back that lets him regenerate right? And controls his robotic arm?”

I nodded. “Yea, what about it?”

Engie pulled a knife out of his pocket. It was small and slightly bulky, having a few wires from the handle connect to the blade.

“...is that a knife?” Spy asked.

“Yep.” Engie said, handing it to him. “Since ya didn’t have a sapper, I wanted to make ya a knife that didn’t break the ‘limited weapons’ rule. Not that it matters much now.”

“...thank you.” Spy said, examining it. “I didn’t expect you to follow up on your offer to make me a knife.”

“How come you never make me anything?” Scout said.

“Because you don’t need it.” Engie said.

“I need stuff all the time!”

Here we go again. Scout, if ya don’t shit up we’re using you as bait.

Engie sighed, rubbing his face.

“Let’s get this back on track.” He said, shifting to a more comfortable sitting position. “How do we kill Clauden?”

“We’re outnumbered.” I said. “His goons are probably hooked up to the respawn too.”

“Yea that makes sense.” Scout said. “So we just gotta get more people?”

Engie shook his head. “Pyro’s the only one nearby, and Medic and Heavy are long gone.”

“Whattabout Demo?” Scout asked.

Engie just shook his head.

“IS HE DEAD?” Soldier yelled, scaring away a few birds that had been spying on us. He stood up, practically demanding an answer from Engie.

“I don’t know, Soldier.” Engie said. “I didn’t see him after the battle.”

“Oh…” Soldier said, his voice noticeably softer.

Scout gave him a sympathetic look. I’ll admit, I did feel kinda bad for him. I’m sure Demo’s fine, but if he’s not…

Suddenly, Spy stood up, brushing the snow off of his pants, looking unnerved.

“I’m going to go find Pyro.” He said, checking his cloaking watch. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Have fun!” Scout said.

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re leaving now? You’ll probably get burned.”

“I’m aware.” He said, already walking away. “I’m used to it.”

I’ll bet he is. While our Pyro seems to like him, the RED Pyro loves to hunt him down specifically.

With that, Spy’s gone. All he left behind was some footprints in the snow.

“What was that all about?” Scout said. “Was it something I said?”

I shrugged. “Dunno mate.” 

Engie looked concerned.

“If he ain’t back in a few hours we’ll go look for ‘em.” Engie said, pulling out his guitar. “In the meantime, we can try and relax a bit.”

“Yea that'd be nice.” Scout said, leaning back against a tree. He started to cross his legs, but then decided against it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little too much dialogue, but it will get better past this point. We’re close to the endgame now!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see. Haven’t had the time to update this one in a hot minute, but don’t worry, the story hasn’t been forgotten.
> 
> I will, however, apologize for how short this chapter is. The future ones won’t be nearly as short, I promise.

Snow and ash crunched beneath my feet as I walked through the forest, searching for more concrete clues as to where exactly Pyro is. He’s certainly here, but where exactly is obscured by ash and trees.

Why didn’t I kill Clauden when I had the chance? I should have. I should have stopped this mess before it even began. This is all my fault, I shouldn’t have backed out at the last second.

Why didn’t I do my job?!

It’s beyond frustrating. All of this destruction wouldn’t have happened had I managed to succeed the first time! or even the second time for that matter! How could I have not known he had a respawn? Why didn’t I notice when the workers we fought against all seemed so familiar…

If I’m being honest, I’m tempted to go off and finish the job myself. That way nobody else would get hurt, and there would be no unnecessary suffering. Although, they’d probably come looking for me if I’m gone too long. Plus I doubt Soldier would miss the opportunity for a good fight.

I need to fix this. I will fix this.

Problem is, I’m not exactly sure how we’re going to take Clauden down. He’s a brute who can regenerate and respawn; he’s not some Mook you can just shoot and be done with. We’ll have to destroy the Respawn before doing anything else. In order to do that, we’ll have to find the respawn room.

Maybe Scout found it somehow? It’s possible that he stumbled across it while escaping, and just didn’t realize it.

How did he manage to escape? I’m sure Clauden captured him for a reason, so I doubt he’d just let him walk out of the door. Scout is related to their old spy though, so maybe escaping sort of runs in his family.

There’s a glow ahead. Well, less of a glow and more of a hellish plume of fire tearing it’s way across the forest. Pyro is standing in front of the inferno, clapping his hands.

At least he’s happy.

“Pyro?” I said, approaching him slowly. “I see you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Mmph? Mmmph!” He mumbled, hugging me.

“I missed you too, Pyro.” I said, hugging him back.

He’s always been weirdly affectionate towards me, ever since I tried some of his scorched scrambled eggs the first day I was here.

The smoke is beginning to burn my throat.

“Do you want to see Scout and Sniper?” I asked.

Pyro nodded eagerly. He let me go and then picked up his flamethrower.

“Let’s go then.”

-

Pyro seems to hate the snow. He’s been keeping an iron grip on my upper arm the entire time, not wanting to lose me in the ash and snow.

“Pyro?” I asked, hoping to distract him a bit from the cold. “I have a… favor to ask.”

Pyro perked up, looking up at me behind his mask.

“Mmph?”

“I might need your help taking Clauden down.”

He nodded, raising his flamethrower a bit.

“That’s not going to work.” I said, shaking my head. “He can respawn.”

He mumbled a disappointed agreement.

“We’re going to need an idea… plan.”

The glow from Engineer’s campfire is burning brightly in front of us, like a beacon.

“Hey! He’s back! And not burned!” Scout said, saving as we walked closer.

“Yes, I’m back.”

Engineer walked up to us, an unreadable expression on his face.

“So, I suppose you have a plan?”

**Author's Note:**

> This'll probably be the last fic in the series, so hopefully I can leave on a high note.
> 
> Also, some of the stuff in this fic won’t make sense unless you’ve read “A New Face on the Gravel” and "Homeplate," but you don’t have to read that to know what’s going on here. It'll just give some more context about who Clauden is and why Spy has a scar.
> 
> Just a heads up for you guys!


End file.
